The Hime Tradition
by Sesshomaru's Secret Admirer
Summary: In the demon society filled with only greed and corruption, Kagome's pure heart drew many to respect her. Sesshomaru thinks she would be greedy and corrupt like the rest. But when she contradicts his prejudice against of her, he soon falls for her even though she is promised to mate Inuyasha. Conflict rises as Kagome struggles to keep her promise and Sesshomaru his honor.
1. Realization

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters that are trademarked by Rumiko Takahashi. However, other characters in this story are rightfully mine. I am merely writing on the basis of entertainment and for S/K fans.**

**Summary: **Every 10th century, there is a tradition amongst demons of high class. For one year, demons gather to choose a demoness who outshines the others by beauty, talent, wisdom, elegance, and uniqueness and is then titled as 'Hime'. This title entrusts the demoness with high power within the demon society. As Prince of the Western Land, Inuyasha is forced back into demon society while dragging Kagome along to act as his intended mate. When Kagome witnesses that Inuyasha is hated by the entire demon society, she decides to become Inuyasha's real intended mate and compete for the title of 'Hime'. But...what if Kagome falls in love with another?

**Chapter One**

Dark bags marked visible beneath amber colored eyes.

White ears twitched at the smallest sounds made.

Brows furrowed constantly, even in sleep.

Kagome knew for certain that something was bothering Inuyasha, but he would always divert the conversation whenever she tried to bring up her observations. A year had passed since the defeat of Naraku. Sango and Miroku had married and left to build up the taijiya clan once again along with Shippou and Kirara. The well had closed blocking her way to her time, even though the Shikon no Tama hung around her neck. So after the devastating realization that she was unable to return to her family, she began to travel alone with Inuyasha jumping from village to village as the Shikon Miko. And ever since then, Inuyasha's anxious behavior became worse and more noticeable.

Something was bothering him.

Kagome's brows creased as she knew something serious was bothering him.

Catching Inuyasha's white ears twitch at a distant sound Kagome could not have heard with human ears, she noticed him freeze. Emotions that looked like hopelessness seemed to flash through Inuyasha's amber eyes. Worry began to eat away at her heart as she saw Inuyasha express such an anguished expression.

Suddenly sensing a demonic aura approaching towards their resting site, Kagome glanced at Inuyasha wearily. He didn't seem to grasp the hilt of his Tetsusaiga, which usually indicated danger, so she remained seated. Hearing footsteps nearing their camp, Kagome heard the footsteps suddenly stop. She looked towards the figure that caused such an expression to appear upon Inuyasha and noticed it was Sesshomaru. Kagome couldn't help but quickly turn her eyes towards Inuyasha in shock that he was not readying for an attack. Instead, she saw Inuyasha's gaze turned away from Sesshomaru and glazed over with iciness.

"Your time is up, Inuyasha," Kagome heard Sesshomaru state stoically before vanishing within the forest again. She sat still as several thoughts raced through her mind in confusion. Usually when Inuyasha encountered Sesshomaru, there was nothing short but fighting, bashing, and insults thrown at each other. Yet, watching both brothers remain calm and cold to each other was definitely freaking her out. Though Kagome was about to send Inuyasha query look, her look vanished as she noticed Inuyasha's face covered by devastation.

"Inuyasha," Kagome continued to voice seriously. "Tell me what is going on." She stared straight into his eyes with a steeled look to demand that he tell her what was causing him such sorrow. She watched closely as Inuyasha's bangs covered his hooded eyes from her sight. For a second, Kagome thought Inuyasha was not going to reveal anything until she heard his mumble.

"I only had a certain amount of centuries of freedom before returning to the Western Land and resume my duties as the Prince," Inuyasha said as Kagome looked shocked. She knew he was the son of a Lord, but she didn't ever consider that Inuyasha would have the title of Prince since he didn't act like one.

"Freedom?" Kagome questioned, now curious as to her friend's reason for not doing the regular duties of a Prince.

"Ya, every Prince or heir to the throne are given 200 years to find their supreme power. When the time is over, they need to return and resume their duties to the Land."

"So, the Shikon no Tama…" Kagome trailed off as she was beginning to understand why Inuyasha wanted the Shikon no Tama. It was to wish upon the jewel and become a full demon, thus obtaining supreme power.

"Ya, so now that 200 years are already over, I need to return to the West," Inuyasha said with a grimace.

"Wait…then why was Sesshomaru trying to kill you all this time?" Kagome inquired confused.

"Keh, that's his way of sparring," Inuyasha retorted with a snort.

The shocking news of Inuyasha being the Prince of the Western Land confused her greatly. But after hearing his explanation, it all seemed to make sense now. She understood that resuming the position of a Prince could be nerve wrecking, but why did it make Inuyasha's expression look so sad? She wished to know, but knowing Inuyasha she doubted that he would tell her anything…yet.

"So, are you leaving me?" Kagome asked quietly, fully knowing the answer to her question but couldn't help asking.

"I'll accompany you to the next village and then leave. I know you are strong enough, you don't need me," Inuyasha answered roughly trying to hide the hint of sorrow. Indeed she had grown stronger to handle her own fights, but to lose her friend and companion was irreplaceable.

After a few more hours of journeying to the nearest village, Kagome saw smoke rising into the air indicating that they were very close by. Stepping past the thick trees, the sight of a village appeared; a demon village. Kagome glanced nervously towards Inuyasha knowing that he always felt uncomfortable when they passed through a demon village due to his brand as a hanyou. Noting the cold hard ice behind his amber eyes, she began to worry.

"A human and a hanyou? How dare you to think you can just walk through our village and soil our grounds!" Kagome heard a demon growl out harshly.

"Do you require a healer?" Kagome asked nonchalantly, used to demons reacting roughly towards her in the beginning.

Hearing the demon scoff, Kagome repeated, "Do you require a healer?"

"I heard you the first time, human," the demon yelled back angrily. Unimpressed by the demon's rude behavior, Kagome crossed her arms and released a bit of her aura.

"Chief, she is the Shikon Miko," Kagome heard another demon say to the rude demon in a hushed voice. Viewing the rude demon stiffen by this information, Kagome watched with amusement as he quickly bowed before her in apology.

"Forgive me, Miko-sama. I did not know you were the Shikon Miko. There are a few demons that require healing," the chief demon responded in a different tone.

Kagome had found out a few months ago when they passed by a demon village that she was highly respected by the demon society. The fact and knowledge that she had been the one to destroy and purify Naraku had spread, which caused her to have some sort of high status amongst the demons. Though she was not familiar with how the demon society worked, she realized that demons were ranked and held status according to their strengths.

As darkness covered the sky filling the night sky with stars and the moon, Kagome finally finished healing the remaining demons that were hurt. Heading towards the hut the chief had provided them to stay in, Kagome entered the hut with Inuyasha staring straight at her from where he was seated.

"What?" Kagome asked casually as Inuyasha stared at her intently. Silence remained in the air as Kagome thought Inuyasha was ignoring her question.

"Come with me," Inuyasha finally spoke after a while.

"Huh?" she breathed out absentmindedly at his random words.

"Come with me to the Western Lands, Kagome," Inuyasha repeated with more information. Detecting the seriousness behind his words, Kagome knew he was requesting her to come with him instead of commanding her to do so.

She saw a flicker of what seemed like hope behind his eyes.

Sitting down in front of Inuyasha, Kagome leveled her eyes to his. Right now was the perfect time to finally ask him what he was thinking.

"Tell me everything then," she demanded revealing to Inuyasha that she knew there was more behind what he had told her so far. A heavy sigh was released by Inuyasha.

"You're too smart I can't even hide anything from ya," Inuyasha voiced lightheartedly appearing like his usual self for a second. But the lighthearted expression of his vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"After my mother's death, Sesshomaru came for me and said I had to perform my duties as the Western Land Prince. So I have been under his care since then. But, my duties as a Prince entails joining the demon society," Inuyasha informed the entire time with a pained voice.

"Oh no," Kagome whispered out the moment Inuyasha explained that his duties required his presence within the demon society.

"Ya, a hanyou as a Prince?" Inuyasha snorted at his own comment, "They hated me, still do."

Tears began to swell within her blue eyes, but she tried to hold them in. She could just imagine the torture Inuyasha went through at such a young age. To be hated by an entire society with no one by your side.

"So come with me, Kagome," Inuyasha continued to ask cautiously, "as my intended mate."

"WHAT!?" Kagome blurted out loudly as the sound resounded against the small hut.

"Pretend, Kagome! As my PRETEND intended," Inuyasha quickly explained while rubbing his sore ringing ears.

"How would that help…" Kagome began to ask, but soon realized what Inuyasha's request was meant for. Sorrow began to sink into her heart as she realized how desperate Inuyasha was. She now understood why Inuyasha's expression looked so hopeless and lost back then. How horrible and traumatic his experiences with the demon society must have been to ask her to act as his intended. With her high status and respect amongst the demon society, Inuyasha was probably hoping that as his intended mate they would be less harsh towards him and overlook his status as a hanyou.

"But I'm still a human," Kagome said worriedly, warning Inuyasha that she may cause him to go through more torment because of her.

"You are an exception, Kagome. Your powers will make demons overlook your race," he replied.

"You are powerful too, Inuyasha," Kagome said honestly, truly confused as to the reason for the demon society to be so hateful towards Inuyasha just because he was a hanyou. She was sure that Inuyasha was more powerful than some of the demons. A disgusted grimace appeared upon Inuyasha's lips and caused dread to fill her heart.

"My Father's scandal will never allow the demon society to overlook my race as a hanyou, no matter how powerful I may be," Inuyasha grounded out angrily.

"Your Father's…scandal…" Kagome echoed as she remembered that Inuyasha's father had mated a demoness but fell in love with a human.

"But even if you were born from such a scandal, your father was still powerful and highly respected. You have his blood streaming through you!" Kagome exclaimed defensively for her friend.

"Keh, you don't know anything about demon society, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered bitterly.

"Tell me, Inuyasha!" she demanded urgently as she glared at her friend.

"Sesshomaru's mother was a Hime. The title of a Hime is given to one demoness every 10th century who is highly respected and approved by every demon. So of course no one dared mock my Father's choice of falling in love with a human when his mate held the title of a Hime. It protected him from any reputation being ruined," Inuyasha said as each word was spit out angrily.

"So their anger towards your Father's scandal was passed down to you since Sesshomaru's Mother's title as Hime didn't protect you," Kagome voiced with an anguished cry, fully understanding the reason for Inuyasha's pain.

Her heart bled for her friend.

Tears that she had tried to hold back overflowed from her eyes.

Sorrow that heavily weighed upon her heart would not be removed.

She knew that this was Inuyasha's first time confessing this to her, to anyone. And it pained her even more to know the fact that there was no one close by his side to heal or hear his painful cry. Feeling Inuyasha awkwardly patting her head to cease her tears, it had only caused her more pain to pierce through her chest.

"I will go with you," Kagome whispered her promise for Inuyasha to hear. And she silently promised to protect him as best she could.

**-Words-**

Hime: The word _Hime_ **initially** referred to beautiful female, though some understand this word to mean princess. Therefore, the title of a _Hime_ is given to the chosen beauty amongst the demon society.

**Author's Note: What are your thoughts for the first chapter of this story, dear readers? The full drawing of "The Hime Tradition" can be seen on my Dokuga account! You are more than welcomed to check that out!  
**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	2. The Proposal

**Chapter Two- ****The Proposal**

Looking into a full length mirror, Kagome observed herself with shock written across her face. Layers of pure silk kimonos revealed strips of color across her small shoulder as if it were trying to create its own rainbow. The outer haori was dyed in bright purple with a beautiful design of the landscape of Japan drawn on. Her waist length hair was tied into a braid that flowed down one side of her shoulder.

Kagome realized that she no longer looked like the 16 year old girl that first came to the feudal era. No, rather she looked more mature and filled in the right places. It had been the first time wearing such expensive clothes, which made Kagome feel really odd and awkward. Fumbling with the edges of her haori, Kagome couldn't help but continue to stare at the different person within the mirror. She looked like a totally different person; just like how Inuyasha appeared the moment he stepped past the Western Gates.

The mischief that always played behind his amber eyes froze, replaced by an icy glint.

His usual slump and casual strides while he walked disappeared as he strode stiffly pass the Gates.

Kagome had always loved her friend's boyish look, but that too had seemed to vanish behind a manly appearance. It gave her a shock to see her best friend, who had always been the immature one, now looked so distant from the person she befriended.

Staring into the mirror once again, Kagome felt a sigh needing release. It was this place, the Western Castle, that was causing Inuyasha so much pain and change. It hurt to realize that the Inuyasha she knew beyond these Western walls was his true character. Yet, within these walls he had to put up a front that was not his true self but a barrier to protect himself.

_Knock Knock_

"Come in," she whispered knowing that it was Inuyasha behind her room door. Turning her attention to her friend as he opened the door, she sent him a small smile. Her eyes met with his tired looking amber eyes. Already he must have been weary from pretending to be who he wasn't. Softening her eyes, Kagome walked towards Inuyasha and grasped his hand to lead him towards a chair within the room. Seating him down, she sat across from him.

"Now, tell me more about the demon society," Kagome voiced in a commanding tone. Although she knew this would only cause Inuyasha more exhaustion, she needed to know all about the demon society in order to protect her friend. They were both notified that they would be attending a greeting ceremony for all the demons that have gathered to celebrate Inuyasha's return to the Western Castle after 200 years. Noting the weary look Inuyasha was giving her, she glared at him in determination that told him they would not leave this room until he told her everything.

"Keh, you better understand the first time cause I ain't explaining it to you twice!" Kagome relaxed a bit as she saw her friend's old self return. Nodding her head in agreement, she waited patiently for Inuyasha to begin.

"There are seven ranks within the demon society. Depending on the hierarchy of the ranks, the more influence and powerful the demons are. Daiyoukai's are obviously at the top," Inuyasha grimaced at the name of the rank.

"Sesshomaru is a Daiyoukai, right?" Kagome asked.

"Ya," Inuyasha grumbled out. "Then the next ranking is a 'Sho (正)'. You know, you are ranked as a 'Sho'," Inuyasha informed casually.

"EHHH!?" Kagome exclaimed loudly causing Inuyasha to flinch at the noise.

"Stop SHOUTING, woman!" Inuyasha yelled back as he jumped up from his chair and pointed accusingly at Kagome for causing his poor ears to bleed from the noise.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just shocked that I'm ranked right below a Daiyoukai!" Kagome breathed out in surprise of the information. She had known that she was respected within the demon society, but to the extent of a 'Sho' was shocking. Watching Inuyasha sit back down with his arms crossed, she covered her mouth to indicate that she would be quiet.

"I'm ranked right below you as a 'Jiki' (直). They are demons that have a straight of direct link to the rank," Inuyasha explained. Kagome understood the underlying meaning behind his words. It was his father's blood that placed him straight into the rank of a 'Jiki'. But that didn't help Inuyasha's situation at all because his rank was not acknowledging his strength, only his blood line.

"The rank of a 'Gon' (勤) are the demons who have power within military forces," he said.

"Like Generals?" Kagome asked.

"Ya," Inuyasha answered as he continued, "Then the rank of a Mu (務) are scholars who are knowledgeable on many things. Their ranks are held similar as to a 'Gon'. Below them is the rank of a 'Tsu' (追) who are demons that need to further work on their skills before being placed in a higher rank. Then lastly, the rank of a 'Shin' (進) are those who have just joined the demon society and have yet to be ranked." Kagome memorized the ranks that Inuyasha had told her because she knew he would never repeat it again for her.

"How can you tell who is in which rank?" Kagome asked as a precaution.

"There is a color code to each rank. Daiyoukais wear yellow" Inuyasha was about to continue the rest of the color codes until Kagome interrupted.

"That's why Sesshomaru wears a yellow sash!?" she exclaimed excitedly as she found that learning about the demon society was very interesting.

"Someone's excited," Inuyasha muttered in annoyance. Catching her friends frown, she mentally kicked herself for appreciating the system behind the demon society that had been so cruel to Inuyasha.

"I guess the dress code for a 'Sho' is light purple?" Kagome asked the obvious as her haori color was light purple.

"'Jiki' wear dark red, 'Gon' wear dark green, 'Mu' wear light green, 'Tsu' wear dark blue, and 'Shin' wear light blue," Inuyasha informed quickly wanting to get over the topic of how the demon society worked.

"Got it," Kagome replied as she mentally stored the information safely away. Seeing Inuyasha sniffing the air, she flared a bit of her powers and felt many powerful demons entering into the Castle.

"Let's go," she heard Inuyasha growl out. Quickly observing her friend hide behind his own mask, she felt her heart heavy at the sight. Gently wrapping her arm around his, he led her towards the hall the ceremony would be held.

A tall ancient looking door was now the only barrier that blocked her and Inuyasha from the sea of demons past the doors. Tightening her arm around Inuyasha, she heard the doors creak open. She felt a rush of demonic aura crackle against her purification powers and narrowed her eyes at the challenge some of the demons were testing her with. Inwardly smirking, she released a portion of her powers into her aura while making sure it didn't affect Inuyasha. Immediately, she saw a few demons flinch and others retreating their auras. Briefly glancing at Inuyasha to check if he was okay, she saw a slight smirk remaining on his lips. Kagome was relieved that she could make her friend the least bit more comfortable. She was sure that this was the first time there was someone standing beside him as a support. But slowly, Kagome began to realize that no one had approached them or looked directly at them.

Many disgusted looks were quickly flashed towards their direction.

Whispers spread throughout the crowd.

Kagome noticed the distance and backs turned towards them as if they were invisible. A pang of rejection pierced through her heart for a brief second, until she felt Inuyasha pull her closer to his side. Shocked by her friend's reaction, she glanced up to see his icy mask slightly portray an apology. The pang of rejection quickly was replaced by sorrow. She did not wish to see Inuyasha apologize for the demon's rude behavior. She knew at that moment that the stares and whispers were directed towards Inuyasha and not her. And it pained her to see her confident and brave friend remain still to receive and accept such behavior.

Whispers were cut off and Kagome looked to see the reason that caused this. A beautiful demoness dressed in a similar style of kimono as hers, yet more revealing near the cleavage, emerged from amongst the crowd. As the demoness walked towards Inuyasha and her, Kagome watched as the haori was painted in light yellow and flowed past the normal length to drag along the floor behind her.

"What brings the Shikon Miko to this occasion?" the demoness inquired lightly. Observing the demoness, Kagome recognized that she was an inuyoukai as well. Her white hair held natural waves and gave a similar shade as Inuyasha's, while her eyes were bright green.

Sensing no hostile behind the demoness' question, Kagome replied, "I come as the intended mate of Prince Inuyasha."

Laughter rang through the grand hall.

"Intended mate? _Prince_?" the demoness managed to blurt out teasingly as she continued to laugh. Hearing the rest of the demons join in with sounds of snickering, Kagome felt confused as to the reason for their laughter.

"How on earth did the half-breed manage to fool you into becoming his intended mate?" the demoness finally asked amusingly. Anger flared within her as Kagome felt a rush of heat flow throughout her body. The word 'half-breed' echoed within her mind causing her anger to turn into rage.

How dare she use such words towards her friend, how dare she insult her friend!

Just as Kagome was about to retort something back to defend her friend, she felt Inuyasha tug at her arm to indicate that she remain silent. Immediately, she sent him a devastated look wondering why on earth her friend would stop her. Yet, all she felt was the tug on her arm tighten its grip. Feeling her anger vanish into a puff of smoke, Kagome clenched her jaws shut.

"Inuyasha," the demoness voiced in a totally different tone and manner than she had addressed to Kagome.

The tone held disgust and disrespect.

"Did you think you would be treated any better because you've managed to attain a mate with higher ranking?" the demoness remarked in distaste.

Kagome's heart sank the moment the demoness pointed out Inuyasha's only hope. As she secretly glanced towards her friend, her heart broke at the sight of his hardened look.

"If she was to be a 'Hime' that may be a different matter," the demoness said as she overlooked Kagome.

"But a human to win the title of 'Hime' is unheard of, even if she may be the Shikon Miko," Kagome made sure her expression remained cool and collected, even though her thoughts ran wild on different ways to purify the demoness.

Finally noting that the demoness had said all she wanted to say, Kagome saw the demoness turn to walk away. She was glad that the demoness chose to leave for Kagome didn't think she could hold her tongue for any longer.

"Oh, by the way," the demoness continued to say. Kagome had to control the urge to roll her eyes.

"I hope you don't think we came here to congratulate you for returning to the Western Castle," the demoness said nonchalantly. Kagome could feel her anger rising within her once again.

"We came for the Hime Tradition that is soon beginning, as you know 10 centuries have passed," the demoness voiced with a growing smirk on her face.

Unable to hold in her anger anymore, Kagome retorted in her best bored voice she could manage to hide her anger in.

"I think you will need to try harder if you think your petty comments were supposed to be heard as insults," Kagome said as she saw the demoness' eyes widen in shock while a few gasps were heard from the crowd. Kagome suddenly felt Inuyasha pull her towards the hall exit.

From the edges of the crowd, golden eyes flickered with amusement as the silent figure continued to watch the Shikon Miko being dragged out of the hall while leaving a shell shocked demoness and crowd.

Finally reaching the room she was assigned to, Kagome ripped her arm away from Inuyasha's tight grasp in anger.

"Why did you run away!?" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha.

"You should have just kept quiet!" Inuyasha growled out.

"Wha…What?" Kagome's voice suddenly dropped its volume and came out shaking. She couldn't recognize her friend anymore. Her friend who was brash and said what he wanted. Yet, when he was being insulted right in front of his face, he did nothing. She didn't understand him. Why was he so different?

"Kagome," she heard him sigh heavily in weariness, "You can't just say what you want here. It's different when it's beyond these walls, but not in demon society. Lady Inari is not someone you want to mess with."

"_Lady_ Inari?" Kagome echoed at the title Inuyasha gave to that wretched demoness.

"She is a Daiyoukai, Kagome. You need to address her as so," Inuyasha whispered bitterly, hating the societal manners already.

Staring downwards towards the floor, Kagome stayed silent. The anger, the humiliation, the sorrow she was all feeling were probably what Inuyasha had grown up feeling with. The disgusted looks she saw still caused a wrenching pain to pierce through her heart. Feeling tears swell within her eyes, she quickly looked up to hold them in. Now staring at Inuyasha's exhausted form, she knew what she had to do.

"Inuyasha," she whispered noting that she had caught his attention," sit."

THUD

She watched as Inuyasha's face slammed against the marble floors of the room.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Inuyasha shouted in anger while his amber eyes portrayed its usual glow and his lips snarled to reveal his fangs. But, Inuyasha's anger faltered as he saw Kagome only showing him a tender look.

"That's more like you," Kagome voiced in anguish. She didn't like to see her friend pretend like someone he was not. She hated seeing her friend who said what he want spit out words forcefully because of his rank. Observing the Inuyasha she knew with fire glimmering behind his amber eyes once again, she looked at him with determination.

"I will win the title of 'Hime'" she exclaimed confidently.

"What?" Inuyasha said in confusion.

"You said that the title of 'Hime' prevented your Father from ruining his reputation no matter what! That demoness also said that the title of 'Hime' could make demons less disrespectful and rude to you! So I will win the title of 'Hime'!" Kagome said with determination as her deep blue eyes portrayed a storm.

"There are many demonesses that have prepared themselves to gain the title of 'Hime', Kagome," Inuyasha scoffed at her confidence to win.

"Let me try, Inuyasha," Kagome voiced passionately as she would give her all and more to win the title. She could not allow Inuyasha to live in pain or humiliation anymore; not if she could help it.

"Kagome, you would have to really mate me-" Inuyasha began to inform but was quickly cut off.

"I know," Kagome interrupted, fully understanding what she was about to say, "Be my mate, Inuyasha, my real mate."

"Wha-wh-wha…" a tint of red began to form along Inuyasha's cheeks at the brave proposal Kagome had just announced.

"I know we both think each other as friends, but don't you think our marriage life would be easier that way?" Kagome explained logically. She knew that friendship was valuable within a marriage and it was because of friendship that held marriages to last longer.

"Kagome," the blush on Inuyasha's cheeks had disappeared as he unveiled a serious frown upon his face. "Don't waste your life being tied down with me because of the stupid demon society," he said honestly.

Though Inuyasha's words were telling her that he was worried for her, Kagome saw a glimmer of hope once again appear upon his face. Recalling the hope Inuyasha had of pretending to have an intended mate who was of higher status was soon crushed by that demoness, Kagome felt her heart aching again at the memory. She truly didn't mind mating with Inuyasha. After realizing that she was stuck in the feudal era, she didn't think she could marry anyone else from this era. They wouldn't understand that she was from a different time; no one but Inuyasha understood her. She knew she would be happy by Inuyasha's side.

"I will become 'Hime', and then I'll make sure no one ever disrespects you ever again," Kagome promised to herself and to her real intended mate. Feeling Inuyasha's arm wrap around her into an embrace, she felt comforted by the skin-ship. Although their relationship may never be filled with burning desire for one another, she would have a comfortable husband who would understand her quirks and oddness. And that was enough.

**-The Seven Ranks-**

Daiyoukai (大; Great or Big youkai) Yellow

Sho (正; True or First Rank) Light Purple

Jiki (直; Straight or Direct Rank) Dark Red

Gon (勤; Diligent Rank) Dark Green

Mu (務; Earnest Rank) Light Green

Tsu (追; Following Rank) Dark Blue

Shin (進; Advancing Rank) Light blue

**-Name Meaning-**

*Inari: Successful One

**Author's Note: The demon ranks are actual ranks Japan used long ago, but please do not penalize me for the historical accuracy.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	3. Opening Ceremony

**Chapter Three**

"Kagome, are you sure about this?" Inuyasha voiced seriously for the fifth time about Kagome's decision to become 'Hime' and mate him.

Standing before the full length mirror, Kagome glared at Inuyasha's reflection.

"Don't change your mind halfway," Inuyasha grunted out while crossing his arms immediately after catching her glare. Kagome saw the worry on his face through the mirror and softened her gaze.

"I won't, Inuyasha. I promise," Kagome vowed sincerely. She was sure Inuyasha knew that she did not make promises lightly.

And her promise would not be broken.

She would try her best to become 'Hime'.

She would mate Inuyasha.

Spending so many years beside her, Inuyasha knew that he did not need to worry about Kagome bailing out on him. She was just not that type of person and he admired her for that. But, he couldn't help the uneasiness of dragging her into his mess.

"You're not dragging me into your mess, if that's what you are thinking," Inuyasha heard Kagome say as if she had just read his thoughts. Quickly turning to look towards her back, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Humph," Inuyasha grunted to hide the surprise of how well Kagome understood him. He shouldn't be surprised at all. Kagome had always been able to read and understand others well no matter how different they were from her. Softening his gaze, the feeling of guilt was replaced by gratitude.

"Could you grab me my haori?" Kagome requested, while pointing towards her bed where the light purple haori lied. Walking towards her bed, Inuyasha picked up the silky haori and unfolded the material to drape it on for Kagome. Slipping the light purple haori through her outstretched arms, he then untucked her skillfully braided hair from underneath the haori.

Staring into the mirror to observe Kagome, Inuyasha felt like an idiot for ever thinking that she looked similar to Kikyo. There was nothing in common between the two. And what made Kagome so much more different than Kikyo was the fact that Kikyo would never had cared about his struggles with the demon society. He was sure Kikyo would have abandoned him the moment he spoke about it.

"Thank you," Inuyasha grumbled, but Kagome knew those words were spoken after deep thought and from the heart. Smiling brightly for him, Kagome nodded in acceptance and turned towards the room door.

"Let's go then, shall we?" she said as she held out her arm to wrap around his. Inuyasha walked to stand beside her while feeling her arm settle upon his. They would be attending the opening ceremony for the Hime Tradition that would be held within the Western Castle. Though all the demons would not be present, Kagome wished to go to gather information and observe.

"I'm not staying there for long," Inuyasha informed her with a peeved voice. Understanding that he didn't wish to be amongst other demons when unnecessary, Kagome nodded.

She assured him gently, "We will be in and then out before you know it."

"You always say that when you go bath and then come back an hour later," Inuyasha retorted sarcastically.

Rolling her eyes at Inuyasha's comment, Kagome said, "Well, I'm sorry if I wanted an hour of silence I can only get whenever I bathe."

"Keh," Inuyasha answered to ignore her statement and escorted her towards the ceremony.

Arriving at the opening ceremony for the Hime Tradition, both Kagome and Inuyasha were horrified at the sight before them.

The ceremony hall stank of thick perfume.

Demonesses of all ranks, mostly the 'Tsu' and 'Shin' rank, wore their kimonos as revealing as possible.

Fake smiles and giggles appeared on every demoness as they flirted with as many demons.

The scenery reminded Kagome of the brothels she read in her history books.

"I guess there's no rule to be chosen as 'Hime'," Inuyasha snorted in disgust.

Kagome asked in a hushed voice, "You don't think they plan to sleep with every one of them?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did," he answered with distaste.

Kagome wondered if they were the only ones surprised by the way the demonesses chose to go about to become 'Hime'. Her eyes rested upon Lady Inari and saw that she was surrounded by many demons, mostly high ranked. Lady Inari seemed to ignore every comment or conversation thrown at her as she just stood there. Though Kagome's first impression of Lady Inari hadn't been great, she was slightly relieved that not all the demonesses would throw themselves at the feet of every male.

"Let's get out of here," Kagome whispered to Inuyasha.

"Don't you need to do your research?" he replied making sure to emphasize that it was her suggestion to come to the opening ceremony when they didn't have to.

"You're more than welcome to stay here," she bit back while walking towards the door that lead to the gardens. She needed fresh air after her lungs were intoxicated by the thick scent of perfume.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled as he hurried to reach her side not wishing to stay any longer.

Kagome scurried outdoors and found a bench beside a huge tree. Breathing in deeply, she tried to cleanse the smell of perfume from her body.

Sensing Inuyasha seating himself beside her, she began to think out loud, "I thought you said many demonesses prepare for the Hime Tradition."

"I meant in beauty, not intelligence," Inuyasha scoffed.

"I'm guessing that there is more focus on the beauty of a demoness instead of her intelligence and strength," Kagome thought out loud.

"You got that from your huge book, huh?" Inuyasha commented as Kagome knew he meant her textbooks she carried around to study. She was tempted to roll her eyes as she knew Inuyasha always thought her words of wisdom all came from her textbooks.

"Well, women weren't acknowledged as an equal to men for quite some time. So, it was usually a woman's beauty that men sought after, not their intelligence. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same for the demon society," Kagome explained.

"You're wrong-" Inuyasha voiced snottily. He puffed up his chest to brag about his knowledge on demon society to Kagome; his first time at being more knowledgeable than Kagome.

"I wasn't done!" Kagome interrupted while hiding her laughter when she noticed Inuyasha's ear plop down in disappointment.

"The very essence of The Hime Tradition is to find a unique, beautiful, and intelligent demoness. This shows that the demon society doesn't look down upon females or their intelligence. But, the fact that this tradition is held every 10th century must mean that such a demoness is rare. I gather that demonesses are brought up to just find a mate that is of same or higher rank, become a trophy mate and then bear them a pup. So, technically demonesses can't help but focus more on their beauty to capture the attention of higher ranked demons. I guess that's why when a 'Hime' is chosen, that demoness is highly respected by both male and females because she exceeds the normal expectations of a 'mate'. The 'Hime' will probably have all demons from all ranks wanting her as mate. This is probably why the demonesses in the lower ranks are using their charm to get the title of 'Hime' and mate a powerful demon. And I'm sure Lady Inari already thinks she's respected by all because of her rank as 'Daiyoukai', even though I think to be respected by both men and women would mean that interaction is key," Kagome described her view of the demon society. Breaking away from her own thoughts, Kagome laughed at Inuyasha's speechless expression.

"You got all that from standing in that opening ceremony for ONE MINUTE!?" Inuyasha voiced in disbelief. It took him centuries to finally understand the gist of how the demon society worked.

"Well, Inuyasha, there were no demonesses dressed in the color of a 'Mu' (scholar), 'Gon' (general), or 'Sho' (first rank). These three ranks are pretty much the ranks one would need to acquire with their own strength. There were only lower ranks, 'Jiki' or 'Daiyoukai' ranked demonesses. I'm sure the demonesses ranked as a 'Jiki' are the princesses of a Lord, while a 'Daiyoukai' like Lady Inari are the heirs of a land. Am I right?" Kagome inquired as she laid out her observations.

"Ya," Inuyasha grumbled in annoyance at her intelligence.

Furrowing her brows, there was still one question that remained unanswered, "But why don't the demonesses just study more and work on their powers to become stronger? Then they would obviously have higher chances of becoming 'Hime'."

"We don't have people teaching us like you do, Kagome. It doesn't work that way for us. Demons are supposed to find their own knowledge and strength without relying on others to teach them. That's probably why Kami gave us such long life spans," Inuyasha explained. This fascinated Kagome greatly, now understanding that every knowledge and strength each demon had was learned on their own and each unique. Kagome realized that even Inuyasha spent 200 years searching for his own strength and knowledge.

Noticing Inuyasha's odd expression, Kagome asked, "What is it?"

"I doubt any demoness would choose to leave the safety and comfort of her Castle to go out and gain knowledge and power of her own," Inuyasha answered.

The puzzle pieces all seemed to fit now. Kagome was able to understand the purpose of the Hime Tradition and why it was so rare to find a demoness with all the qualities of a 'Hime'.

"Well then, if there are no rules to gain the title of 'Hime', I wonder what tactic I should use," Kagome mused out loud as she furrowed her brows in deep thought.

"You just needa act as you do, Kagome," Inuyasha told her honestly. He knew her natural personality could change anyone.

Kagome smiled warmly at his words for they reminded her to stay true to herself. She did not wish to become 'fake' in any way. Every word that came out from her mouth would be honest and sincere. It was so easy to just find the right important people and tell them the words they wish to hear. But Kagome would not have any of that.

Staring into his amber eyes with a smile, Kagome voiced softly, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Lord Sesshomaru! Lord Sesshomaru~ where are you?" both Kagome and Inuyasha heard a few demonesses yell out sugary. At the same time, Kagome and Inuyasha got up from the bench they were sitting on and scurried quickly into the Western Castle to avoid the incoming demonesses. While Kagome was containing a giggle, Inuyasha smirked.

"Poor Sesshomaru, he must be popular with the demonesses" Kagome said as her voice quivered from the giggle she was trying to contain.

"Very," Inuyasha snickered.

Behind the huge tree, where Kagome and Inuyasha had sat beside, a slight movement of a shadow could be seen. As golden eyes glimmered in the dark, he fixed his eyes upon the Miko as she disappeared into the Castle. Unknown to both Kagome and Inuyasha, the hidden figure had heard their entire conversation. Replaying the conversation in his head, golden eyes lingered on the path the Miko had left from.

'Interesting.'

**Author's Note: What do you think of the demon society now? Makes sense? ...Hopefully it does.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	4. Lasting Impression

**Chapter Four- Lasting Impression**

Kagome knew the moment Inuyasha stepped through her room door with a frown that something was up. His tense shoulders and hands hidden in the other sleeve gave away the indication that Inuyasha knew something she did not.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired straight away as her question caught Inuyasha off guard.

"Keh," Inuyasha grumbled to cover up his surprise. He had just been racking his mind to find out how to break the news out to Kagome when she asked him what was wrong. Releasing an angry sigh, Inuyasha felt his frown deepen.

"I'm in charge of outside affairs since it is rude for the Castle Lord to leave as the host of the Hime Tradition," Inuyasha confessed without hiding his annoyance. Realizing what was bothering Inuyasha, Kagome nodded her head in understanding.

"How long will you be gone for?" Kagome asked lightly.

Still annoyed, Inuyasha remarked unhappily, "I don't know for certain. Sesshomaru assigned me to a couple of problems in the Western boarders."

"Then you won't be able to attend tonight's…" she voiced with a hint of sadness as her friend would leave her alone to attend another ceremony held for the Hime Tradition.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. But to be honest, it's better for you to attend alone than with me at your side," Inuyasha bit out with a flash of pain cross his expression. Kagome saddened at his comment for it only reminded her of the harsh reality. The demon society still hated Inuyasha and for him to stand by her side during the ceremony would cause any effort to befriend a demon of another rank as futile.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered with a heavy heart for she could feel his pain.

"Don't worry bout it, Kagome. I'd rather steer clear from the Castle. It will be better for me," Inuyasha explained honestly. Yet the only reason he felt guilty was that he was leaving Kagome alone in the Castle while he escaped from it.

"Be safe," she said gently to Inuyasha. Kagome stared into his amber eyes in a soft understanding gaze. Watching him stiffly nod his head, she saw him turn to leave and finally noted that he had already been dressed in a set of armor.

Kagome walked out of her room after a while and headed towards the Castle gardens. She hoped the gardens would calm her anxiety. The thought of Inuyasha leaving her in the Castle alone for an unknown amount of time brought her unrest. Entering into the gardens, Kagome was welcomed by the smell of flowers, sunlight, and a cool breeze. Trying to find the bench she had sat with Inuyasha, she walked past a few trees until the huge tree came into view. However, Kagome noticed that a small demon was already sitting on the bench. Just as she was about to turn to leave, Kagome overheard the small demon stuttering to himself.

"Th-this i-i-is my d-d-debut novel o-o-on o-o-on…on…" as she heard the small demon trail off, Kagome noted the small trembling hands of the demon and felt her heart lurch in sympathy. Observing the small demon, she recognized him as a 'Mu' rank (scholar) and tonight's ceremony must also be an important debut for him. Understanding the small demon's nervousness, Kagome approached him.

"Hello there," Kagome voiced gently as not to shock the poor trembling demon.

"Ah! He-he-hello!" The small demon replied, but as soon as recognition flashed behind the demons eyes Kagome saw the small demon sit up from the bench and quickly bow low.

The small demon stuttered out, "Lady Miko! Wh-what an h-honor to mee-eet your ac-acquaintance!" Standing closer to the demon helped Kagome realize that he was a kitsune. Detecting the resemblance with her young friend Shippou, Kagome already felt comfortable with the demon in front of her.

"I see you already know me. And you are?" Kagome asked softly.

"Akihiro! My name is Akihiro, Milady!" he blurted out quickly. Witnessing Akihiro's flustered look from her attention, Kagome giggled at her adorable new friend.

Glancing at the book Akihiro was clenching on, Kagome inquired, "I was passing by when I overheard you saying that you are debuting with a novel?"

"Y-y-yes, Milady." Akihiro informed shyly as he clenched even tighter onto his book. Slowly lowering his head, he said sadly, "My introduction was pathetic, wasn't it?"

"You just need some practice," Kagome advised to her saddened friend.

"Someone else was supposed to introduce my novel for me, but…" Akihiro trailed off as tears swelled within his dark green eyes.

"Would you mind if I introduced your novel then?" Kagome asked wanting to help Akihiro. Seeing him quickly look up at her in surprise, she remembered that humans were not usually taught how to read or appreciate literature.

"I have read many books. I can read over your book and introduce it with the addition of my impressions," Kagome helped explain to the surprised looking kitsune. As Akihiro glanced back down at his book, he slowly lifted it and handed it to Kagome. She knew that Akihiro trusted her by the way he handed her the only copy of his book. Smiling gently, Kagome extended her hand to receive the honor of being the first to read his works. It was as if a silent acknowledgement was exchanged between the two when Akihiro handed her his book; a silent acknowledgement of trust and friendship.

A silent figure hidden behind the ancient tree mentally scoffed as he watched the naive kitsune leave the clearing. The kitsune could easily be used to create connections with other higher 'Mu' ranked demons. Since he had overheard the Miko confess that she was interested in the title of 'Hime', it would be easy to manipulate the kitsune who so easily gave his trust to the Miko. Losing interest in the Miko's predictable actions, the silent figure waited for her to leave the clearing before returning to the Castle himself. Yet after a few minutes had passed by, he sensed her aura still within the clearing. Golden eyes refocused upon the Miko and slightly widened when he saw that she had begun reading the book the kitsune had entrusted her with. Feeling his eyes slightly narrow, the silent figure noted that the Miko had once again managed to peak his curiosity.

Time seemed to quickly pass by for Kagome as she was so immersed within the novel. The novel was about a traveler who had come across a small magical village. The magic barrier that surrounded the village did not allow strangers to leave so quickly, so the traveler could not leave for a few months. As the traveler spent more time within the village, the more he learned about the customs and beauty of this magical village.

Though the novel was not thick, she spent her time carefully reading over each page slowly in order for the words to sink in. So deeply enraptured by the literature world Akihiro had written, Kagome was not aware of the golden eyes that watched with interest as her facial expression changed in every new page.

"You have taught me all there is about this village for I have spent much time here. And although there are many more places to explore within this world, I ask that you would allow me to stay for I wish to learn and find all the hidden beauties that still lay within this very village," Kagome read the traveler's final words.

Finally closing the book, she hugged it closely towards her chest. The traveler's final words seemed to hit close to her heart. It made her see that there was much beauty hidden within the very place she dwelled in; the demon society. Slowly closing her eyes, Kagome recalled how she had initially wanted to hate the demon society for their rude behavior towards her friend. But after reading the traveler's words, she wanted to reveal to Inuyasha the beauty that lay behind the hatred.

Opening her eyes again, she noticed the lighting had darkened. Kagome quickly stood up from the bench and ran inside for she knew the ceremony was supposed to begin soon and she was not even dressed. Holding onto Akihiro's precious novel tightly in her hand, a bright smile appeared on her lips for she knew this novel deserved attention and praise.

As Kagome left the clearing, a tall shadow appeared from behind the huge tree as Sesshomaru stepped out into the evening sunlight. Silver hair that held a slight glow swayed against the waist of the inuyoukai as he walked towards the bench the Miko was sitting on. Confusion flashed behind his stoic golden eyes as he analyzed the Miko's behavior. The image of the Miko diligently and carefully reading through each page of the kitsune's novel remained in his mind. It would have been enough for the Miko to just skim through the book. Instead, she chose to waste her time to read the entire book word for word when there would be no benefit for her in the end.

'A waste of time…' the words echoed in his mind, yet he could not seem to think that of the Miko's sincere actions. Though Sesshomaru appeared stoic, many questions ran through his mind. He was determined to figure out why the Miko's odd behavior intrigued him so.

**-Name Meaning-**

*Akihiro: bright scholar

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	5. One Hidden Beauty

**Chapter Five- One Hidden Beauty**

"Lord Sesshomaru, you haven't once said anything about how I look tonight~" a demoness whined with a pout. Not even sparing the demoness a glance, Sesshomaru kept his eyes straight ahead.

"So cold~" the demoness voiced sounding aroused.

The scent of the demoness' arousal in the mixture of her thick perfume caused Sesshomaru's annoyance to heighten. Holding in a growl, he was tempted to leave. Yet the Miko would be formally introduced to the 'Mu' ranked demons, and he was curious to see how they would receive her. Finally spotting the Miko enter into the hall, Sesshomaru watched her walk towards the kitsune she had befriended.

"The Shikon Miko?" The elder scholar exclaimed in shock at her appearance. Bowing in respect to all the scholars, Kagome said, "I am here to share with you Akihiro's debut novel."

Kagome observed all the demons look at her with the same expression Akihiro first expressed; shock. Ignoring their looks, Kagome explained a summary of the story. As the shocked expressions upon the demons changed into interest, Kagome knew she had captured their full attention.

"Overall, this book will make you want to appreciate the beauty of your current location and give you a set of new eyes to see the hidden beauties you were not able to see before," Kagome continued on to say, "For me, this book has motivated me to search for the hidden beauty within the demon society. And I wish to share these new set of eyes with someone dear to me." Scanning the crowd of demons, she saw them nodding their heads in acceptance. With a slight smile upon her lips she looked at Akihiro with happiness.

Akihiro's eyes were already dripping with tears as he said, "Thank you, Lady Miko!"

"Kagome," she whispered to Akihiro, "you can call me, Kagome."

Sesshomaru observed as the scholars clung onto every word the Miko spoke. She spoke about the novel while her tone and words held sincerity and appreciation. It was as if she had read many books to be knowledgeable on what was considered 'good literature'.

"What has captured your attention, Lord Sesshomaru?" the demoness beside him asked in a sultry voice. Ignoring the demoness, Sesshomaru continued to watch the Miko speak with the elder scholar.

"Ah, the Shikon Miko capture's your attention, Lord Sesshomaru?" the demoness points out as she follows his gaze.

Angered by his silence and lack of attention, the demoness says bitterly, "She is still a human, Milord. Also, I heard that she's the intended mate of your half-brother. She does not even possess any beauty. How could a thing such as her be interesting?"

Sesshomaru held back the temptation to roll his eyes. He knew that females loved to belittle other females to make themselves feel better. A cowardly way is what he thought of it. Though the unknown demoness beside him was attempting to make him lose interest in the Miko, she had only made herself a fool. Finding no need to explain or indulge her foolish actions, Sesshomaru ignored her.

Feeling the demoness grab his outer haori to make him face her, Sesshomaru for the first time turned towards her.

Golden eyes glazed with ice narrowed dangerously at the demoness that dared touch his person. Sensing fear emit from the demoness' aura, her grasp around his haori immediately fell away.

"Elder, who is the one that holds knowledge in numbers?" Lady Inari announced to the crowd of scholars.

Kagome saw the nice demon she had just been talking with voice, "I am the one you are looking for, Milady." Detecting the atmosphere drastically tense, Kagome noticed all the scholars held a distressed expression on their faces. Confused by this, she asked Akihiro what was happening.

"Lady Inari tends to test our knowledge by giving us problems to solve," Akihiro answered in a hushed voice. Furrowing her brows, she knew that there was more to the situation than Akihiro's answer. Walking closer towards the elder who received a paper from Lady Inari, she heard him state, "No one come near me. I do not wish for anyone to be involved."

"But elder!" some of the scholars protested. Observing that all the scholars had created a circle to surround the elder, Kagome also noticed the 'Gon' ranked demons snickering. Recalling the information Inuyasha had told her, she knew that if the problem Lady Inari gave the scholars wasn't solved then the 'Gon' rank would be held above and not equal to the 'Mu' rank.

Realization flashed through her stormy blue eyes as to why the elder did not wish to have other scholars help him with the problem.

"Will the elder leave the rank if he cannot solve the problem?" Kagome asked softly towards Akihiro. Once again catching a surprised expression upon his face, Akihiro nodded in response.

"If the problem is not solved and no other scholar looks at it, then the reputation of the 'Mu' holds for their intelligence is not soiled. Instead, the scholar that saw the problem and confesses he cannot solve it is labeled as unfit to be within the 'Mu' rank and is stripped of his title," Akihiro said.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at Lady Inari. She knew that Lady Inari was doing this to feed off of the scholar's knowledge. It was her silent strategy to make it look like a test when really it was just to attain more knowledge. Though she did not wish to give Lady Inari the answers to the problem, Kagome didn't want anyone to be kicked out from their rank. Kagome noted that Lady Inari was not paying attention to them so she silently approached the elder who was reading over the problem.

"I do not know the answer," the elder breathed out in defeat. Kagome saw the crestfallen faces of the scholars and felt her heart warmed by their worry for the elder.

Tapping the elder's shoulder, Kagome asked, "Could I look at the paper? I'm not a 'Mu' rank, so it doesn't matter, right?"

Kagome had once again sent several scholars into shock by her words. The math she learned from her era was much more advanced, so she hoped that the number problem wasn't too difficult. Looking at the paper the elder decided to reveal to her, Kagome smiled. It was only asking for an easier way to add large numbers. Knowing that multiplication would be the answer, Kagome took the paper and pen from the elder and wrote down the explanation on how to use multiplication. Finished, Kagome looked to see if anyone aside from the scholars had seen her write down the answer and was satisfied that no one else had been paying attention. Yet unknown to Kagome, Sesshomaru had watched the entire thing.

"Are you done yet?" Lady Inari asked.

Passing the paper and pen to the shell shocked elder, Kagome answered, "Yes!"

Hoisting the elder up, Kagome gave him a little push towards Lady Inari. Watching the elder stiffly pass the paper to Lady Inari, Kagome found several of the younger scholars looking at her with wide eyes.

"Are you sure you wrote this?" Lady Inari inquired suspiciously towards the elder. Mentally smacking her head, Kagome forgot that her writing must have caused Lady Inari to feel suspicious.

"Well," the elder responded hesitantly. Realizing that the elder was looking straight at her, she knew he was about to tell Lady Inari that she was the one to answer the question. Placing a light barrier around herself, Kagome lied, "Of course he did! I saw him with my own two eyes!"

Golden eyes widened as he heard the Miko's words. Had she confessed that it was her that answered the problem, she would have automatically gained the respect of many demons. Slightly narrowing his eyes, her unpredictable actions had once again caught him off guard and left him feeling more confused.

"Humph," Lady Inari scoffed before turning around to leave. Releasing a sigh of relief, Kagome was glad that her barrier had successfully covered the scent of her lie. Walking away from the shocked crowd of scholars, Kagome made her way out towards the gardens.

"Lady Kagome! Lady Kagome!" she heard Akihiro call out just as she reached the garden bench. Staring at her friend whom had entered into the clearing, she saw him rush towards her.

"You were amazing, Lady Kagome! How did you know such advanced-" Akihiro was quickly cut off by her gesture to stop.

"Do not tell anyone, Akihiro, that I did it," she whispered.

Nodding his head, he asked, "Why did you do that for our rank though?"

Smiling warmly towards Akihiro, Kagome responded, "I found one hidden beauty, Akihiro."

"Hidden…beauty?" Akihiro whispered in awe.

"Yes, the hidden beauty within the demon society. I found it with the new set of eyes your book has gifted me," Kagome answered warmly.

Looking up into the night sky, Kagome replayed the scene as she voiced her thoughts, "I saw the elder ready to give up his rank to protect the other 'Mu' ranked scholars. And I saw the younger scholars worrying for the elder when he confessed that he didn't know the answer. That kind of care and dedication was beautiful."

Bowing before Kagome, Akihiro voiced seriously, "On behalf of the 'Mu' rank, I would like to thank you, Lady Kagome, for solving the problem, for protecting our elder and our rank."

Akihiro looked up to see the most beautiful smile. As the moonlight struck against her pale skin, Akihiro's eyes were enchanted by the glow around her.

"Where is your book, Akihiro?" Kagome asked breaking the spell he was under. Remembering that he left his precious book inside the hall, Akihiro quickly ran back.

Softly giggling, Kagome leaned her arms against the bench and scanned the thick trees.

Noticing silver hair glimmer in the moonlight, she called out hesitantly, "Sesshomaru?" Watching him enter into the clearing, Kagome noted that this was the first time being alone with him. Though she held no ill feelings towards him, she had no idea how she was supposed to act around him.

"Miko, did you not wish to become 'Hime'?" he said stoically.

Surprise flashed across her blue eyes. She did not think anyone but Inuyasha knew of her plans to become 'Hime'.

Surprise was soon replaced with a soft look as she said, "There's nothing you don't know, Sesshomaru." After hearing from Inuyasha the way all demons had to gather their own knowledge and power, she knew her respect for Sesshomaru only grew.

"Why did you not reveal that it was you who solved the question?" he asked, notifying her that he knew who had answered the question Lady Inari had given. Overhearing her conversation with the kitsune, it still did not answer why she would choose to protect the 'Mu' scholars and lose the chance to be respected for her intelligence. To know the answer to something when a scholar did not would have brought her much respect.

"Did you think that I lost my chance to prove that my intelligence is above a scholar's?" Kagome asked as she caught Sesshomaru's stoic eyes briefly widen. Once again allowing her eyes to look up into the dark sky, she said hollowly, "I would surely gain the respect of many demons that way. But, I do not wish for that type of respect, Sesshomaru."

Staring straight at her with his stoic eyes, Sesshomaru hide his confusion. Slowly, her blue eyes looked straight into his without a flinch and noted the determination within them.

"How can you respect someone that steps on people's pride and rank out of arrogance? I know I could never respect the person who does. I will only go about this my own way where I stay true to myself. And hopefully, be deserving of the sincere respect that people may have for me," Kagome said.

'Deserving of one's sincere respect…' Sesshomaru echoed in his mind as the image of the kitsune bowing before the Miko flashed through his mind. The kitsune's gratitude for protecting the 'Mu' rank was definitely a sign of his sincere respect for the Miko. But, the Miko would conceal her intelligence just to gain the deep respect from one mere kitsune?

"Foolish," Sesshomaru voiced impassively. Her naïve and innocence would only deter her from gaining the title of 'Hime', while the rest of the demonesses used every dirty trick. Yet, the word he spoke did not seem to sink in. Her honorable actions only increased his interest towards the Miko even more so.

Sensing that his words were not spoken sincerely, Kagome smirked.

"I'm surprised that after so many encounters in the past you have just realized this," she voiced playfully.

As Sesshomaru turned to leave, a ghost of a smirk slightly pulled at the corner of his lips. The Miko had managed to capture his interest longer than anyone else had.

The Hime Tradition may not be dreaded for as he initially thought.

**Author's Note: What did you like about this chapter? I know my dear readers had high expectations for this chapter. I hope I did not disappoint anyone.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished. **


	6. Darkness Unveiled

**Chapter Six- Darkness Unveiled  
**

-Afternoon Ceremony-

A few days had passed since the episode with the 'Mu' ranked demons. Kagome knew that all the scholars were looking for her and would bombard her with questions on how she knew of such 'advanced' numbers. Unprepared to answer all the questions, she tried to hide from all of them.

Now standing before the ceremony hall, a slight frown appeared on her face. Her maid had just informed her that ceremonies would now be sometimes held in the afternoon and evening. The first few months would hold many ceremonies and then eventually die down later in the year. Kagome still felt pale after hearing that the Hime Tradition lasted almost a year! But, now was not the time to process the information. Avoiding the 'Mu' ranked scholars was her main priority for now. Kagome shook her head to shake away the shock she received from the news. Scanning the crowd of demons, Kagome saw a flash of silver hair catch her eye. As a grin appeared upon her lips, her footsteps quickened towards Sesshomaru. However, as the distance between her and Sesshomaru lessened, she saw the dark aura emitting from him.

There on a chair that almost looked like a throne, Sesshomaru sat with his usual stoic expression.

Kagome observed a chubby demon and what looked like his daughter speaking to Sesshomaru. Pacing a bit slower towards Sesshomaru, she overheard a bit of what the chubby demon was saying.

"Lord Sesshomaru, it is such a great honor to finally meet you! I have heard so many good things about you, Milord! Your strength truly compares to no other! Rumors share that your power has surpassed that of your own Father! Of course I believe it can only be true for you are so great!" the chubby demon voiced as Kagome saw spit splattering out from his mouth. Kagome felt the emptiness behind the demon's words as a brief expression of disgust crossed her face.

"What business do you have with this Sesshomaru?" She couldn't help but shiver from the iciness that covered his voice.

Detecting the chubby demon gulp down his fears, Kagome watched him pull his daughter closer to his side while saying, "Ah, Well, you see, Milord, this is my daughter!"

Seeing Sesshomaru raise a brow as if unimpressed, Kagome's heart sank finally understanding what the chubby demon was trying to do.

"My daughter is truly talented in everything and anything. Your mother would really really like her if she got to know my daughter!" the chubby demon began spitting out again.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru to see his golden eyes hollow a bit more from the demons comment. Her heart dropped as she realized that the chubby demon was sucking up to Sesshomaru in order for his daughter to have a higher chance of winning the title of 'Hime'. She figured out the moment Inuyasha told her that Sesshomaru was the host of the Hime Tradition that he had something to do with choosing the 'Hime'. Her assumptions had been correct as she saw the chubby demon trying to flaunt his daughter. But what pained her the most was the fact that the demon stated such hollow words to use Sesshomaru's status for his daughter's benefit.

Stoic eyes remained hollow and hardened.

'To grow up surrounded by so many fake and empty words,' her heart whispered in pain.

Sesshomaru stared at the fake smile and empty words that came from the demon in front of him. Supposedly a lower noble that ruled a small part of the Southern Lands, he couldn't even care to dispose of the demon.

No, the feeling of emptiness only expanded within him.

Knowing this feeling too well, his heart only hardened.

Used to centuries of greedy demons trying to use his status and strength,

Used to the two faced demons that surrounded him,

He would not let anyone near.

They were all the same.

Boring his golden eyes at the demon that was still sprouting empty lies, Sesshomaru thought,

'Pathet-'

"Pathetic," Golden eyes widened as he heard the exact words he had thought being said by a female voice. Looking to the owner of the voice, his golden eyes locked with the Miko's stormy blue eyes.

"What did you just call me!?" Kagome heard the chubby demon shout towards her.

Lifting up the drink in her hand that she was given, she stated, "The drinks are pathetic, Sesshomaru."

A smirk formed upon her lips as she saw the chubby demon tighten his lips as his cheeks turned red from embarrassment. The chubby demon thought her words were not directed to him, but she was, just indirectly.

"Oh?" she heard Sesshomaru voice. Silently referring the drinks to the chubby demon's empty words, Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru to see if he caught on. Noticing the flash of amusement behind his stoic expression, Kagome's smirk widened.

Taking a sip out of her drink, Kagome asked the chubby demon, "Yes, it's very tasteless, an empty taste that makes you dislike the drink. Don't you think so too?" Staring at the chubby demon, Kagome waited to hear his response.

"O-o-of course, why, I was just about to bring that point up! Lord Sesshomaru, the drinks from my region are much more delicious! I've tried the drinks that were served here today and as the Shikon Miko pointed out, they have no taste. They should be immediately thrown out!" the chubby demon exclaimed without realizing Kagome's intention behind her question.

Struggling to hold in her laughter, Kagome continued, "See, Sesshomaru? The drinks are pathetic after all, and should be thrown out!" Witnessing a slight smirk appear on his stoic face, Kagome's heart lightened. She was glad to see his hollow eyes replaced with amusement.

"Indeed," Sesshomaru voiced with a hint of mirth. Narrowing his eyes at the demon, Sesshomaru ordered coldly, "Leave."

Satisfied by the scent of fear coming from both the demon and his daughter, Sesshomaru watched them scramble to leave as commanded. Glancing at the Miko from the corner of his eye, he caught her smiling towards him. A calming feeling seemed to fill the hollow hole within him.

_Comforting_.

Was he being comforted?

Grimacing at the realization, Sesshomaru ignored the tingling feeling against his chest. How the Miko managed to know what he was thinking and feeling, he didn't know. Feeling his brows slightly furrow into a frown, Sesshomaru waited for anger or disgust to arise. Yet, the Miko's smile and actions to comfort him only caused a soothing sensation to flow through him.

"Hn," he mumbled before turning away from the Miko to exit the hall.

He hoped that the odd sensation she caused within him would die out if he placed some distance.

How wrong he was.

Watching Sesshomaru leave, Kagome noticed several scholars walking towards her. She held back a groan. However, just as she was about to greet the incoming scholars, a crowd of demonesses blocked her view of the scholars. Looking at the demonesses, she noted that they were from the 'Tsu' rank. But from the frown and glare on each of their faces, Kagome didn't know if she should feel relieved that the demonesses prevented the scholars from interrogating her.

"We have a few words we'd like to discuss with you, Miko," the demoness in the middle sneered. Straight brown hair tied in a high pony tail flowed down to her waist. Wearing a dark blue haori, the color made her violet colored eyes look unique. Figuring that this demoness was the speaker for all the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses, Kagome slightly furrowed her brows in deep thought as to why they would wish to speak with her.

Kagome followed behind the five demonesses while observing their unique kimono. The kimono revealed their long legs by the high slit cut up to the thigh. With the kimono exposing from the bare shoulders, the cleavage line was clearly seen. Nothing was left to the imagination. Reaching the gardens, the five demonesses turned to face her.

"Stay away from Lord Sesshomaru," she heard the brown haired demoness voice sharply. Kagome's mind blanked for a second after hearing the demoness' comment. Switching to confusion, she didn't quite understand why she needed to stay away from Sesshomaru or why the 'Tsu' demonesses were angry because of this.

Voicing her confusion, Kagome asked, "Um, why?" Noticing that her question only made the demonesses angrier, she mentally smacked herself for the slip.

"He will become Lady Kura's mate!" yelled one of the other demonesses. Assuming that the brown haired demoness was 'Lady Kura', Kagome felt her heart growing heavy again.

A low growl came from another demoness as she shouted, "Then he will make Lady Kura gain the title of 'Hime'!"

She knew the moment she felt her heart drop.

The 'Tsu' ranked demonesses were only after a higher ranking mate.

They were only after power.

No love involved.

No affection involved.

Just plain cold business.

And it was Sesshomaru that was surrounded by this cold world.

"No," Kagome responded calmly. She struggled to maintain a calm appearance when her heart ached for Sesshomaru who was surrounded by so many fake and greedy people.

"I'd listen if I was you, or else your precious intended mate will be caught sleeping with one of us," the 'Lady Kura' snarled threateningly.

Red flushed across Kagome's cheeks caused by the boiling anger that burned through her veins. Fisting her hand, she clenched her jaw tightly to prevent words to fall from her lips. But the moment she saw weary looks flicker through the rest of the demonesses, Kagome's anger ceased. A thought crossed Kagome as to the reason for the other demonesses to look weary.

Pretending to sound doubtful, Kagome asked, "_You_ would sleep with a hanyou?" Though she hated to brand Inuyasha like that, she needed to find out if her assumptions were correct.

"Of course _I_ wouldn't!" Kura said snottily.

From Kura's threat, she thought that Kura was the mastermind behind the revealing clothes within the 'Tsu' rank. She had also assumed that Kura ordered other demonesses to sleep with whoever she needed to gain her favor. Realizing that she had assumed correctly, Kagome was too lost in the feeling of rage to find the words to express her disgust.

A place that used anyone they could to their benefit.

She had found one reason for Inuyasha's hollow expression the moment he entered the Western Castle.

Imagining Kura ordering the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses to sleep with a certain demon caused a piercing pain to shoot through Kagome's chest. Blue eyes, that portrayed the storm of feelings that whirled within her, glared at Kura. A slight flinch shook through Kura.

"Disgraceful," Kagome said, feeling the words slip past her lips.

The smirk that had once graced Kura's mouth turned into a snarl. Kura's elegant features slowly scrunched into an ugly expression of anger.

"How dare you!" Kura shrieked out as she lifted her clawed hand to strike Kagome's cheek. However, noticing Kura's action, Kagome caught her by the wrist in a tight grasp. Kura continued to shriek in anger and struggled to rip away from Kagome's steel grasp.

An unforgivable fury consumed Kagome for Kura's corrupted actions towards other 'Tsu' ranked demonesses. Releasing a small fraction of her purification powers, the smell of burnt flesh began to fill the air.

Violet eyes filled with pain as Kura screamed out, "AHHHHHHHH!"

Kagome unhanded Kura's wrist as she watched her fall to the ground. A red scar remained on the fallen demoness' wrist; a mark that would last a few weeks to let the demoness reflect on her disgraceful actions.

Shifting her gaze away from Kura, Kagome scanned the surrounding demonesses that were looking at her with fear. Softening her gaze towards all of them, she felt her heart cry out for them.

She tried to supress the tremble in her voice as Kagome said softly, "I do not know why you follow her."

Watching all five of the demonesses look to her with bewilderment, she guessed that it had not been an option from the start.

"Treasure yourselves," Kagome whispered tenderly. Looking at the demonesses one last time, she turned to leave the gardens. She did not think her heart could take the pain any longer.

Did the demon society know that demonesses of the 'Tsu' rank were being exploited?

Did they know and chose not to care?

A storm raged within her.

The cold words Kura confessed about using Sesshomaru's status rang through her mind.

She recalled the empty words spoken by the rotund demon.

Panic filled her as she wondered if the demon society could be so cruel.

It was almost as if the hidden beauty she had found within the 'Mu' rank scholars was but a dream; her imagination.

As her footsteps began to quicken, she found herself within the empty hallways of the Western Castle. The memory of Sesshomaru's cold and blank eyes burned into her head. Noticing a maid passing by, she called out desperately, "Excuse me!"

Her frantic blue eyes bore into the maid as she pleaded, "Do you know where Sesshomaru is? I must see him! Please!"

She saw so many hardened hearts, cold eyes, and cruel behaviors acted upon without guilt.

Kagome needed answers.

To know if this was acceptable, if this was normal.

Though she feared the answer to this, Kagome followed behind the maid that led her towards Sesshomaru's study.

Dread filled her with each step.

The small glimmer of hope that hoped to love the demon society had been bigger than she had thought.

**-Name Meaning-**

*Kura: Treasure House

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	7. A Silent Bond

**Chapter Seven- A Silent Bond**

Kagome stared at the dark wooden door that held elegant carvings. Though she had successfully controlled her facial expression to appear calm, her blue eyes gave away the storm that raged within her.

_Knock Knock Knock_

The maid knocked on the door hesitantly. Feeling Sesshomaru's aura from behind the wooden door, Kagome knew he was within his study. But, as a few seconds passed by without an answer, the maid looked at her timidly and said, "I'm sorry, Lady Miko. It seems Milord is not accepting guests."

The moment the maid stated her comment, it made Kagome realize her foolishness. It was foolish of her to think that she was anything more than a guest to Sesshomaru. She was the only one who thought that she had become a bit closer to Sesshomaru. And in the midst of unveiling a dark side to the demon society, she had come to Sesshomaru thinking that he could help her with answers; that he could reassure her. A sad smirk tugged on her lips at the irony of the situation. Not a few days ago, she had felt awkward being alone with Sesshomaru. And now she immediately looked for him the moment she felt the need of his presence. Releasing a loud sigh, Kagome slowly closed her eyes.

"Come in," a stern voice muffled through the thick wooden door. As blue eyes flashed open in surprise, Kagome glanced at the astonished maid. Kagome viewed the maid nod her head before pushing the heavy door to enter.

Kagome's eyes fell upon the piles of scrolls stacked on a large desk. Observing Sesshomaru writing something on a scroll, her mind blanked as curiosity got the better of her. She inched closer to see what he was writing.

A shadow casted upon the scroll he was signing causing his hand to pause in its motion. Sesshomaru shifted his gaze to the Miko.

Already feeling the stress it must take to go through all the scrolls, Kagome asked, "How do you ever finish going through all these scrolls?" She glanced at Sesshomaru to see that he had a brow raised. Kagome rolled her eyes at the look Sesshomaru held as if she had just asked him a stupid question.

He was Sesshomaru, how could she have forgotten.

He was capable of everything, Kagome thought to herself sarcastically.

"Well, how long does it take to finish all this?" she rephrased.

"A day," he answered curtly.

Awe shined through her blue eyes as Kagome's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that all these scrolls needed to be sifted through each day! Though she knew the Western Land required high maintenance to keep order, the scrolls that piled Sesshomaru's desk were beyond her imagination.

She recalled coming across Sesshomaru several times in the past from his patrol. But once again looking at the pile of scrolls on his desk, she thought out loud, "I wonder how you had the time to patrol _and_ read through all the reports."

Kagome knew it would be ineffective for Sesshomaru to do both, even though he was capable of doing anything and everything. It wasn't like the other Daiyoukai's patrolled their lands, she was sure of that. Did that mean they did not patrol their lands at all? Or possibly send out soldiers to patrol? Yet, both questions did not make sense to her because Inuyasha was entrusted to patrol while Sesshomaru required staying within the Western Castle as the host. Sending Inuyasha to patrol meant that this duty was not taken lightly or given to just anyone.

Realization flashed through her eyes as she exclaimed, "The duty to patrol is passed down to the Prince after their return from the 200 years of search for their own power and knowledge!"

Kagome caught Sesshomaru's golden eyes slightly widen. Had she not carefully stared at his reaction to see if her statement was correct or incorrect, she would have missed it.

He was shocked. The Miko's intelligence had once again caught him off guard.

"Indeed," he answered impassively, though his eyes betrayed his stoic mask to reveal amusement.

Kagome now understood why she felt comforted by Sesshomaru's presence. He had been the only one that did not treat Inuyasha any lower than his rank. Though she couldn't say Sesshomaru cared for Inuyasha a great deal, she knew Inuyasha wasn't hated.

He was honorable. He would not act upon a demon's reputation from society's view of him. Rather he would most likely judge for himself how the demon needed to be treated.

As a warm smile appeared on her lips, Kagome softened her gaze towards Sesshomaru. Her heart lightened at the knowledge that not everyone may hate Inuyasha as appeared. Silently sending him her appreciation, her blue eyes portrayed understanding.

Sesshomaru felt exposed by her blue eyes. It was as if she could see straight through his soul.

"What did you come for?" He voiced coldly. Noting that his question successfully distracted her from staring at him, he felt almost relieved.

Her blue eyes seemed to cause his chest to tighten.

"Yes," Kagome continued, "I was wondering if you know what Kura has been doing to the other 'Tsu' ranked demonesses." Holding her breathe, she hoped that he knew nothing about it. But as she saw his eyes harden, dread filled her.

Quietly placing his quill down, Sesshomaru said stoically, "What of it?"

"Wha…what of it?" Kagome echoed his words in shock. Snapping out of a daze she said in bewilderment, "What do you mean 'what of it'!? Kura should be stopped! Why are you allowing her to exploit other demonesses? That is so wrong!"

Golden eyes narrowed at the tone of her voice.

"Miko, the morality a demoness uses to gain power is not of importance. It is the end result that matters, not the procedure," Sesshomaru said with a voice coated with iciness.

His features were stiff and cold. Though she knew he always appeared so, she felt an invisible distance widen between them. Golden eyes glared at her stoically, but she saw a hint of hollowness behind them. Sesshomaru's comment continued to repeat within her mind. The cruelty behind the demon society began to paralyze her.

'_He will become Lady Kura's mate!_'

Her chest began pounding painfully.

'_Then he will make Lady Kura gain the title of 'Hime'_

Kagome's thoughts on Kura vanished. Instead, she felt the consequences of the demon society's cruelty portrayed through his stoic eyes. More than anyone else, Sesshomaru was bound to be the main target to many greedy and ambitious demons who craved for more power.

A burning sensation spread through her chest.

_Anger._

For centuries, Sesshomaru must have experienced many plotting to use his status and power.

_Sorrow._

As her emotions clashed, the overwhelming sensation began to numb her. Without even noticing, Kagome's blue eyes swelled with tears and soon began to overflow past her cheeks.

Sesshomaru felt his hardened heart shake. Though he didn't fully understand the reasons for her tears, her blue eyes looked at him with understanding.

"I sincerely respect you, Sesshomaru," she whispered. He had spent centuries in such a power hungry environment, yet did not allow the greed to consume him. She was sure that Sesshomaru had attained his power purely through his own strength and ability. And it was through this realization that filled her with warmth, with hope.

Blank golden eyes finally came to life with a flicker of surprise.

He heard the earnestness behind her words.

He sat frozen as he felt a tingling sensation embrace him. It was almost as if his heart knew that her tears were for him.

He knew the Miko was honorable.

He knew she would never use his status or power to her own benefit.

She had proven so during the situation with the 'Mu' rank.

Unconsciously, the hollowness behind his golden eyes disappeared as it was replaced with warmth. Though such a look lasted for only a second, it showed the slight change within the inuyoukai's heart.

After what seemed like a few minutes, Kagome calmed the overwhelming emotions that swirled within her. Blue eyes dried up as it began to shine with determination. There was still hope. She saw hope. She just needed to bring out the beauties of the demon society that lay hidden under all the corruption.

"Will you be attending the evening ceremony?" Kagome asked softly.

"No," he replied. Seeing the disappointment flash across her face, Sesshomaru explained, "There is no point attending when I am not required to."

Kagome understood that Sesshomaru was not the type to attend a ceremony to mingle. A small smile appeared on her lips.

"I will see you around then," she said before leaving his study.

-Evening Ceremony-

The sun was still shining in the sky, but the lighting had changed to appear dimmer. As Kagome entered the ceremony hall, she noticed the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses. Before she approached them she overheard them speaking.

"I can't find Lord Sesshomaru! I checked his study," one demoness said while the other exclaimed, "I checked everywhere else he could be! I can't find him too."

"He always seems to disappear to some unknown place," another demoness said.

Finally tapping the shoulder of one demoness, Kagome said, "Hello there."

Immediately all the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses stared at her with shock while some even squeaked. Kagome knew of Kura's corrupted actions. She knew the demon society did not care either, but she did. It was impossible for her to remain silent after she knew what Kura was doing. This had to stop.

Determination shined through her blue eyes as she said, "Forgive me for scaring you this afternoon. I just couldn't remain calm after finding out what Kura put you through." Each word was spoken with truthfulness and the demonesses sensed this.

After noticing that Kura herself was not present, Kagome asked, "Where is Kura?"

"She wouldn't leave her room…since the mark on her wrist could be seen," one of the demonesses explained. As the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses looked at Kagome with a serious expression, Kagome found confusion in their eyes.

A gentle voice inquired, "Why do you care for us?" All the demonesses stared at her intently as if this question confused them the most.

"Because I would love to be friends with you all," Kagome voiced simply. Once again, the demonesses held a shocked expression.

"You are a 'Sho' rank! It is impossible for you to befriend-" a demoness stated before getting cut off.

Kagome interrupted sternly, "A person's rank will not prevent me from befriending anyone." She knew this would be the first lesson she would teach her new friends. A person's status would not determine the way she treated anyone. She hoped the same view could be passed down to the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses.

Suddenly noticing some of the scholars approaching her, Kagome quickly said, "I must leave for now! But it was nice meeting you!" Running out towards the gardens, Kagome felt the scholars following after her. She mumbled her annoyances under her breathe. Reaching the clearing where the huge tree and bench lay, she looked behind her.

"Lady Miko!" a voice yelled after her.

Sensing the scholars inclosing, she looked around the clearing to find a place to hide.

"Lady Miko!" a louder voice came.

Placing a barrier around her, she ran behind the huge tree. But as she turned to hide behind the tree, she was unprepared to see a person sitting there. Unable to stop herself, her foot got caught by the person's leg and fell onto the cold ground.

"Ompf," Kagome sounded from the sudden impact. Just as she was about to apologize to the person, her eyes met golden eyes.

"Sessho-!" she exclaimed, but a hand covered her mouth to silence her.

"Lady Miko!" the voice of several scholars called out right from behind the tree. After a few seconds, Kagome felt the hand over her mouth fall away. Quickly getting up, a red blush burned her cheeks.

Diverting her eyes away from him, she apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone would be behind the tree."

"Hn," glancing to see that he did not appear angry with her she smiled. Positioning herself to sit right beside Sesshomaru, she leaned against the tree trunk. Wondering why Sesshomaru was sitting behind the tree of all places, she recalled the demonesses discussing how they couldn't find Sesshomaru. A smirk appeared on her lips.

"Are you hiding?" Kagome asked slyly as amusement glimmered in her eyes. Detecting Sesshomaru glare at her, she began to giggle.

Raising both her hands in defense, she said, "Okay, okay. I'll call it strategically avoiding." Seeing Sesshomaru grimace at her comment, she couldn't hold in her laughter anymore. Soon her giggles turned into fits of laughter.

Though Sesshomaru knew he should feel insulted, he did not. Instead he felt intrigued by the Miko sitting beside him. It had been his first time witnessing someone laughing so carefree with him.

The tingling sensation returned.

Holding onto her stomach, she could no longer laugh for she had laughed too much till her stomach hurt. Releasing a sigh of content, Kagome then slowly turned to look from behind the huge tree. She sensed a few scholars still wandering about, but what caught her eye was the bench within the clearing. Kagome remembered that she had sat there with Inuyasha as she discussed her choice to become 'Hime'.

"So that's how you found out I wanted to become 'Hime'," Kagome thought out loud. She guessed that Sesshomaru had been resting behind the tree as usual when he overheard their conversation. But thinking that even _then_ the demonesses were calling out his name to look for him, she once again began to laugh.

After a few more seconds had passed, Kagome ran out of laughter. Wiping away the tears of laughter from her eyes, she breathed in deeply to calm herself. Resting her head against the tree trunk, she felt tiredness weigh her eyelids down. All that laughter and drama from this afternoon took a toll on her human body.

"Sesshomaru," she managed to mumble with a yawn, "wake me up after a few minutes, okay?"

Feeling the Miko's hand grasp onto the end of his sleeve, Sesshomaru glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Kagome fell into a light slumber without hearing his answer to her request. She somehow knew he would.

As the sun began to set, the sky darkened. Time ticked by as the two remained seated behind the ancient tree. The Inuyoukai sat still immersed in his own thoughts while the Miko slouched against the tree asleep. Her hand still grasped onto the inuyoukai's sleeve even as she slept. And the inuyoukai did nothing to pull away from her touch.

There, under the evening sky, a silent bond was made between the Inuyoukai and Miko.

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	8. Acceptance

**Chapter Eight- Acceptance**

-The Next Morning-

Kagome lay in her queen sized bed entangled by soft sheets. Feeling something tightly wrapped around her throat, she tried to remove the weight away. Kagome tugged on the sheet that seemed to be skillfully tied around her neck. Unable to lessen the tightness, she rolled around and shifted. Yet still half-asleep, she couldn't unlock herself from what seemed like an impossible knot. She released a tired groan as she slumped against her bed in defeat.

"Lady Kagome," a female voice called out past her room door. Grunting, Kagome heard her maid enter. Hearing her maid snicker at her state, Kagome blinked open her eyes.

"Pfft," her maid continued to snicker, "I wouldn't be surprised if you died from suffocating in your blankets one day, Milady."

Closing her heavy eyelids, Kagome grumbled sarcastically, "Thanks for predicting my future death, Emiko." Sensing her blankets shift around her, she blinked open her eyes to see Emiko help her out. Sleepiness slowly disappeared from her eyes as she sat blanket-free on her bed.

"Thanks," she whispered out with a sheepish grin.

Folding the remaining blanket, Emiko then said, "Well, then be a good girl for me today while I get you prepared for the afternoon ceremony." A smile remained on Kagome's lips as she was always reminded of her dear friend Sango through Emiko. She quickly bonded with Emiko the first day Inuyasha had left the Western Castle on patrol.

"I wonder why you weren't assigned to me from the first day I arrived at the Castle," Kagome thought out loud. Standing before the full length mirror, she felt Emiko dress her as she heard her speak.

"Well, it is tradition for mates to help dress each other every day, Milady," Emiko explained.

Red color tinted Kagome's cheeks from the information. She had almost forgotten that Inuyasha would soon become her real mate.

Emiko continued to explain, "And I guess Lord Sesshomaru thought that Prince Inuyasha would help dress Milady, since you are his intended mate. But after Prince Inuyasha was sent on duty, Lord Sesshomaru assigned me to assist you."

A smile lingered on Kagome's face as she felt warmed by what she thought was Sesshomaru's way of acknowledging her as Inuyasha's chosen mate. She knew that Sesshomaru had every right to deny Inuyasha's choice of mate because they were to live together in the Western Castle. At least she seemed bearable enough to be around, Kagome thought.

"All done!" she heard Emiko exclaim. Nodding her head in thanks, Kagome headed out to find something to do before the afternoon ceremony. But the moment she opened her room door, she felt two arms grasp onto each side of her arm.

Shocked from the sudden attack, Kagome only heard Emiko yell, "Unhand Lady Kagome! How dare you!"

"Lady Kagome! Forgive us!" Kagome snapped her attention to Akihiro who was standing before her.

Calmed by his appearance, she asked gently, "Did the elder request for me?" Seeing Akihiro nod his head violently, she let out a light chuckle.

"I guess my actions of running away from you guys pushed you to perform this," Kagome said teasingly. "Well! Drag me to him!" she shouted playfully.

Making her way past several corridors, she noticed the scholars and Akihiro stop in front of a door. Entering into the room, she saw the entire 'Mu' ranked scholars surrounding her while the elder stood in the middle.

"Welcome, Lady Miko. I apologize for using such extreme measures," the elder said.

Feeling her arms set free, she answered, "That's quite alright, Elder." As soon as she finished her sentence, Kagome saw the entire 'Mu' ranked scholars along with the elder bow respectfully towards her.

She stood frozen in her spot feeling confused.

"We wished to express our gratitude for saving our elder, Lady Miko," she heard one of the younger scholars say.

Another voice exclaimed, "We also wished to express our sincerest respect for your honorable actions of lying on behalf of the 'Mu' rank."

"You may not have known, Lady Miko, but your deed was great help. The 'Mu' rank is constantly up against the 'Gon' rank. If our rank was shifted below that of a 'Gon' then it would definitely affect the importance of knowledge and intelligence," the elder said.

"Our elder plays a huge role in keeping up our rank. The fact that you have saved him from leaving the rank means that you have saved the entire history of the 'Mu' rank," another scholar input.

'Woah' Kagome thought to herself. It was the only words that seemed to explain her feelings at the moment.

Shaking her head from the shock, she asked, "Weren't you looking for me to ask how I knew of the answers?"

"No, Lady Miko. We do not focus on how we attain knowledge," the elder said. Remembering Sesshomaru's words about the lack of care on the procedure, Kagome slightly felt down.

The elder once again piped, "But if you don't mind me asking, I would like to know why you would allow me to take advantage of your knowledge."

Brightly smiling at the elder, Kagome replied sweetly, "You weren't taking advantage of my knowledge, Elder. I was _sharing_ my knowledge with you." She heard the entire crowd of scholars whisper amongst themselves in confusion.

"Sharing…knowledge?" the Elder echoed with interest.

"Yes, if you think about it, wouldn't you gain more knowledge by sharing information amongst each other? There is a saying that two heads are better than one. Two people can definitely answer and find more information better compared to one," she said.

Hours passed by as Kagome discussed many things with the scholars. She brought to them the idea of gathering all the information and compiling them into a book. Through this, other demons can gain a standard knowledge. She truly admired the scholars for they accepted her ideas. Kagome had always thought she would never get to explain and discuss any of her knowledge attained from the future with anyone anymore in the feudal era.

She no longer felt weird for holding such intelligence.

"The afternoon ceremony has already begun," one of the scholars reported.

For the second time, Kagome entered into the ceremony hall with another person. In this case, the entire 'Mu' rank. She gained a lot of attention for entering in with the scholars, especially Sesshomaru's.

Golden eyes flickered with amusement as he watched Kagome speak with the scholars. He noted the respect they held in their attitude towards her. Her honorable action that was acted upon without calculation ended up receiving the 'sincere' respect of the entire 'Mu' rank.

Kagome scanned the crowd to meet eyes with Sesshomaru's. For a second she thought she had seen admiration flash across his face, but doubted her eyes had seen correctly. Excusing herself from the crowd of scholars, she made her way towards Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru saw the Miko walking towards him until her attention diverted somewhere else. Her path changed into another direction. A slight furrow between his brows unconsciously appeared as he watched her greet the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses.

"Hello there, I didn't get to catch your names last time, I apologize," Kagome said to the demonesses.

The oldest looking demonesses pointed at each demoness as she said their names, "Etsu, Ami, Hana, and I am Chika."

"And I'm Kagome," she introduced herself with a smile. Staring at Chika she asked, "Does this mean we are friends now?"

Chika felt the rest of the demonesses staring at her to see how she would answer. She had always been Lady Kura's right hand partner, but hated doing what Lady Kura instructed her to do. It hadn't been until Lady Kagome's appearance that gave her hope.

Kagome saw hesitance behind Chika's eyes and knew she shouldn't rush or force anything. Sending them a gentle smile, Kagome said, "No need to rush your decision. It will probably be hard to be friends with me since Kura would hardly allow that. Take your time."

After reassuring them, Kagome turned around to leave them. Seeing that Sesshomaru was surrounded by a few demonesses from other ranks, she smirked. But as golden eyes captured her blue ones, she watched with surprise as he ignored the others while making his way towards her.

"Miko, come," he ordered with a hint of annoyance. Lightly giggling, Kagome followed beside him as they headed towards the gardens.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru with a smirk and teased, "You must love being popular amongst the demonesses."

"Unnecessary annoyances," Sesshomaru said coldly. He knew that the Miko's first confrontation with the 'Tsu' demonesses had to do with him. The knowledge of this unsettled him.

Stopping in his footsteps, Sesshomaru said stoically, "It is unnecessary of you to befriend the 'Tsu' rank. Their opinion of you does not affect your chances of being titled as 'Hime'."

His chest seemed to tighten.

He was sure the 'Tsu' demonesses would only befriend the Miko to get closer to him. Anger simmered beneath his stoic mask at the naïve Miko who did not see the trap she would fall into. She did not seem to understand that the demon society held no warmth or friendship.

"Sesshomaru," Kagome voiced in a serious tone, "I did not befriend them because of the title of 'Hime'." She stared into his hardened eyes that slightly narrowed.

"Then you are foolish to think that they would befriend you with pure intentions," his stoic voice cracked to reveal a hint of his anger.

Kagome noted his stiff posture and cold calculating eyes. But she also noticed the anger that broke through his stoic mask and immediately understood what caused this. Softening her blue eyes to look into his, she said tenderly, "Thank you for worrying, Sesshomaru. I will be careful."

Her blue eyes seemed to look into his soul once again.

Had his anger been worry?

How was it that she seemed to know him better than he himself did?

_Unnerving._

A light growl filled the silence. Sesshomaru walked away from the Miko scoffing at her assumption that he was worried.

No, he was simply annoyed that the Miko chose not to adhere his warning.

-Evening Ceremony-

Standing in the ceremony hall with Akihiro, she heard him say, "All the scholars are fighting against each other to read my book, Lady Kagome. It's all thanks to you."

Akihiro's adorable words made her smile as she replied, "No, your book definitely deserves to be fought over." She then chuckled at the sight of Akihiro's blush.

Returning to her thought of this afternoon, she wished to confront Sesshomaru about several things. Yet, she had scanned through the crowd and noticed he was not present. Abruptly, a loud shout rang through the ceremony hall causing Kagome to break away from her thoughts.

"Kur-a said I can have any of her guu-urrls! Co-ome heere," Kagome saw a drunken demon stumble with his words. The drunken demon grasped onto Chika's wrist and pulled her against his chest. By the looks of Chika's distraught expression, Kagome knew she had to help.

Akihiro, who caught onto her determined expression, voiced quietly, "He is the leader for the 'Gon' rank, Lady Kagome. Be careful." Stiffly nodding her head towards Akihiro, she stalked towards the drunken demon.

Kagome watched in horror as the drunken demon began to tear Chika's kimono off. But what made her angry was the fact that she was the only one moving towards the disgusting crime scene as the rest of the other demons remained watching.

Her anger did not last long for one demon caught her eye though. A demon of the 'Tsu' rank held eyes flickering from red to silver as his hand were clenched tightly. She also noticed the other 'Tsu' demonesses were grasping onto each other for comfort as they looked to their friend with tears. Chika was now sprawled onto the floor with unfeeling eyes of hopelessness. Just as the drunken demon was hovering on top of Chika to kiss her, Kagome kicked the side rib of the demon enforced with a bit of her powers. As the drunken demon crashed onto the marble floor to create a dent, it howled in pain. Kagome took off her outer haori and placed it over Chika to cover up her ripped kimono that no longer covered anything.

Seeing that the 'Gon' leader was sobering up, Kagome heard him yell, "How dare you!"

Narrowing her blue stormy eyes, she released her purification powers to surround her.

"You were harming my friend," Kagome voiced icily as she slowly stepped closer towards the demon.

The 'Gon' leader felt the immense power of purification burning against his skin. He voiced frantically, "B-but Lady K-kura allowed it! I w-was only-"

"Don't you _dare_ touch anyone of the 'Tsu' rank for they are now my friends," Kagome snarled as she stepped even closer to the 'Gon' leader. His skin was now sizzling at the closeness and saw sweat pooling down his face in fear.

Glaring at the 'Gon' leader, Kagome threatened in a cold voice, "If I _hear_ or _see _anything of this sort again, no matter what _Lady_ Kura has said, I will purify you slowly so that you feel pain in every inch of your body."

She made sure that everyone in the ceremony hall heard her warning. No longer would she allow the 'Tsu' rank be pushed around by the demon society.

Returning her attention to Chika, she saw that the 'Tsu' rank already huddled around Chika with tears. Kagome neared the group, which caught Chika's attention. Silently reassuring others that she was fine, Chika then walked towards Kagome and bowed.

"I first thought you were stupid to anger Lady Kura," Chika said bluntly as she continued, "but you somehow figured out about her corrupted actions." Chika knew from this that the Miko held more intelligence then she appeared.

"Then I thought you were joking about befriending us, but you went out of your way to look for us and speak with us," Chika knew many demonesses of higher rank who tried to use them for their own benefit. But, the Miko had once again proven to be different.

Sincerity shined through her smile as she finished saying, "After that I thought you were naïve to befriend a different and lower rank, but all I see now is a confident woman who does not care for what others say. Thank you for saving me. I would be honored to be your friend, Lady Kagome."

Kagome heard Chika's sincere words and knew she did not have to worry about any evil intentions. Immediately thinking of Sesshomaru, she let out a soft smile.

She couldn't wait to tell Sesshomaru what had happened to rest assure his worries.

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	9. Her Influence

**Chapter Nine- Her Influence**

The sun brightened the morning sky with light colors of blue and white. The summer heat was cooled down by the cool breeze that swept by within the Western Castle. Kagome sat in a flower field she had come across this morning. Humming a song quietly to herself, she plucked some of her favourite flowers. Even though she had already spent an hour in the sunlight, not a single sweat trailed down her face.

She loved the weather in the feudal era compared to the modern era. She found that the summer was much longer and less hot in the feudal era. Since she loved the beauty she was surrounded by in summer but hated the heat, sweat and stickiness the modern era weather caused, the feudal era was perfect for her.

Basking in the embrace of the sun, Kagome hummed a light tune to a modern song she remembered. But, her humming slowly silenced for she heard crying echo in the garden entrance.

"Why is Lord Sesshomaru so cold to me!?" Kagome heard a demoness cry out. The thick bushes prevented her from seeing the owner of the voice. Guessing that the demoness was talking to someone, Kagome tried to remain as quiet as possible so that she didn't disturb them.

"What do you mean?" the other demoness replied.

"I've been waiting to see Lord Sesshomaru, so I waited in front of his study. Then, I caught him right before he could enter,"

'Oh boy,' Kagome thought.

"And he glared at me with cold eyes!" the demoness continued to cry out.

Kagome assumed that is was probably because the demoness was blocking his way into the study.

"He was probably controlling his face from looking too pleased to see you," the friend demoness replied.

Kagome froze in her spot after hearing the comment and had almost smacked her forehead.

The demoness sniffed before saying, "Well, he didn't reply to any of my questions or comments too!"

'Probably because he didn't find the need to answer,' Kagome thought.

The friend demoness voiced reassuringly, "Don't worry. He was probably scared that if he talked to you it would end in stutters."

Blinking, Kagome's thoughts blanked. She was sure she didn't hear that comment being said correctly. Sesshomaru…scarred?...stuttering!?

"Ah! You are right! It all makes sense! I guess I will just have to come out stronger if he is so shy," the demoness said cheerfully.

Even after the two demonesses left the garden, Kagome sat there in a daze. Replaying the conversation in her head again, it wasn't until a few replays did she realize the two demonesses were actually having a serious conversation.

Kagome burst in laughter as she rolled on her back. The image of Sesshomaru stuttering and looking shy stuck in her head. Laughter rang like bells through the clearing as a strong gust of wind passed through. The stems of every flower and the leaves on the trees swayed in the wind. In that moment, it appeared as if all of nature was laughing with her and enjoying her presence.

After a few minutes passed by, Kagome soon managed to collect herself to remain calm. Glancing at the lilies she plucked, she felt the need to bring them to Sesshomaru. It would be her silent apology for laughing at him. Lightly chuckling, Kagome picked up the lilies and headed towards Sesshomaru's study.

Already knowing her way to Sesshomaru's study, Kagome lightly knocked on the dark wooden door.

"Come in,"

Struggling to open the heavy door to his study room, Kagome slipped past the crack she managed to push open. She held the vase filled with water and lilies in her hand; her silent apology. Looking to see Sesshomaru busily reading over several scrolls, she quietly placed the flowers near the window. Kagome noticed that the window gave a view of the entire Western gardens. Wondering if perhaps Sesshomaru had heard her laughter or seen her, she quickly glanced at him. But once she saw his eyes concentrated on the scroll in front of him, she let out a sigh of relief. He would have been too busy to notice her in the gardens.

Just as she was about to leave the study, she heard Sesshomaru say, "What are they doing here, Miko." Kagome knew he was referring to the lilies she brought in.

Turning to see that Sesshomaru was still focusing on the scrolls, she answered gently, "I thought they would lighten up the room. And plus, the scent of lilies always helped calm me down. That's why they are my favourite flowers."

Silence filled the study room.

Kagome remembered that she needed to tell Sesshomaru of the incident last night at the evening ceremony. The incident where she had helped the 'Tsu' rank. But figuring that Sesshomaru was still busy, she decided to just leave.

Hearing the door shut, Sesshomaru put down the scroll he had been reading. The footsteps of the Miko echoed in the hallways, but the sound grew further. Standing up from his desk, he walked closer to the plant the Miko had brought in.

Flowers were just flowers.

He never cared for them.

It was normal. He had lived for centuries with the same objects repeatedly growing each season. It was only natural for everything to look dull before his eyes.

Yet, the Miko seemed to see the beauty of them.

Silver hair glowed in the rays of sunlight the window gave off. Sesshomaru leaned against the side of the window and stared at the garden below. He spotted the flower field he had seen the Miko spend hours in. Then glancing at the plant, his golden eyes traced the round edges of the white flower.

Silently breathing in, the flower's scent filled his nose.

'Lilies,' a voice echoed.

The inuyoukai echoed the name of the Miko's favourite flower. It was the first flower that was remembered by its name by the inuyoukai instead of thinking of it as just an object. Blank eyes that were used to passing through nature with blind eyes now stared at the flower in a different light.

-Evening Ceremony-

The ceremony hall filled with noises of chatter. Demons and demonesses alike all chattered amongst their own rank. Blank golden eyes scanned the crowd. Not one entered into his eyes. There had never been a person he wished to confront or speak to. He knew too well that all of them were the same; fake.

"Lord Sesshomaru," blank eyes glanced at Lady Inari.

Noting the smirk on her lips, he heard her say, "You missed a very entertaining evening ceremony last night."

"Hn," his blank eyes turned away from the demoness in disinterest. He did not care for the gossip that went around. Lady Inari did not realize this and continued to explain the events that occurred last night.

"The 'Gon' leader got drunk last night as always," Lady Inari snickered before continuing, "And tried to sleep with one of the 'Tsu' ranked demonesses."

Though he was usually left unfeeling about these sorts of situations, this time had been different. Disgust sank into his mind at the thought of the 'Gon' leader's action. A slight furrow appeared on his brows as he wondered why his reaction towards the news differed this time.

'_Kura should be stopped! Why are you allowing her to exploit other demonesses? That is so wrong!'_

The Miko's words only seemed to cause the disgust grow. Since when had the Miko's words influenced him, or anyone's words?

"Oh, but then things got really entertaining!" Lady Inari said with excitement. Sesshomaru knew that the others had probably just stood there to watch the scene. Golden eyes hardened as he expected Lady Inari to tell him that the 'Gon' leader slept with the 'Tsu' demoness during the ceremony.

"The Shikon Miko kicked the 'Gon' leader to the floor and saved the pitiful demoness!" He froze when he heard what the Miko had done.

Lady Inari laughed with a high pitched voice as she continued, "That Miko is too naïve. She threatened everyone not to touch any of the 'Tsu' demonesses for they were her _friends_! Friends!? The Miko will surely be used by the low class demonesses; how utterly pitiful."

He had thought so too. Centuries of living within this society, it was predictable that the Miko would only be used for her kind heart.

His chest tightened.

"Lady Kagome!" the sound of several scholars calling out reached Sesshomaru's ears. Noticing that the Miko had just entered the ceremony, he watched all the scholars move towards her.

The entire 'Tsu' rank walked towards the Miko as they too called out, "Lady Kagome!" For the first time in history, three ranks seemed to mingle with one another.

Admiration shined through the eyes amongst all the 'Mu' rank and 'Tsu' rank.

'Impossible,' Golden eyes hardened at the sight before him.

An air of respect lingered in the air that surrounded both ranks. In the middle, the Miko held a sweet smile on her lips as she greeted each person individually, personally.

Sesshomaru patiently waited for any evidence of deception to crack through. Yet, used to centuries of encountering superficial beings, he knew that what he saw was not the same. No, what he saw within the 'Mu' and 'Tsu' rank was sincere respect; the respect she honorably earned.

The stubborn Miko had once again managed to write off his predictions.

The Miko's laughter rang throughout the ceremony hall as the other ranks continued to tell her a funny story. With the other two ranks laughing along with her, the Miko's blue eyes glowed with joy.

Golden eyes that had always remained cold towards the unforgiving demon society slowly seemed to melt from the sight.

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	10. The Decision

**Chapter Ten- The Decision**

Kagome brushed away the wrinkles on her haori that were visible to the eye. The texture of its silky material was felt beneath her fingers. Light purple, the color of her haori, brought a glow to her milky skin. Sensing Emiko release the grasp on her onyx hair, Kagome pulled her braid to one side of her shoulder.

"Thank you, Emiko," she said. Looking at Emiko's reflection from the mirror, she saw her bow. Abruptly, the sound of her room door swinging open was heard from behind her. Kagome quickly turned her head to see the intruder.

The whole gang, Etsu, Ami, Hana, and Chika marched towards her. Kagome's eyes widened as she felt Estu and Hana wrap their arms around both her arms. Raising a brow, Kagome silently questioned Chika what the meaning of this was.

A playful smirk plastered on Chika's lips as she said, "We need to steal you for a while, and the scholars told us that this was the best way to do so!"

"Maybe I shouldn't have introduced you guys to the scholars," Kagome mumbled.

"Bring her to my room, girls!" Chika ordered teasingly. Kagome giggled at the de ja vu of being dragged somewhere again. Entering into Chika's room, Kagome sat in the circle her friends were sitting by. She stared at Chika, who was blushing, and waited patiently to listen to what would be said.

"Um," Chika hesitated before explaining, "I wanted to confess something with Lady Kagome present."

Kagome nodded her head to encourage Chika to continue. It showed her support in whatever she was about to confess. Seeing Chika send her a relieved smile, Kagome heard her blurt out, "I'm in love with Hisashi!"

Silence filled the air as Kagome did not realize the tenseness the other demonesses were showing. In her own world, the memory of one 'Tsu' demon angered by the ordeal between the 'Gon' leader and Chika flashed through her mind.

"Oh, are you talking about the silver eyed demon?" Kagome asked innocently, breaking the heavy silence.

Everyone stared at Kagome with wide eyes and exclaimed all at once, "Ehhhhhh!?"

"How did you know, Lady Kagome? Are you a mind reader!?" Ami asked.

Smiling she replied, "No, he was the only demon that seemed angered when Chika was being attacked."

Steadily looking into Chika's eyes, Kagome continued, "I would not have allowed you with any other man."

"But, Lady Kagome, he is only a 'Tsu' rank," Hana informed hesitatingly.

Sharply staring at Hana, Kagome said, "And what did I say about ranks?" Hana looked downwards in shame and replied, "That rank should not prevent you from treating others differently."

"Thank you so much for your blessings, Lady Kagome!" Chika exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm just glad there is still love that can be found in the demon society," Kagome said. She felt like another hidden beauty was slightly uncovered.

Chika said sadly, "No, I was about to give up on Hisashi, Lady Kagome. Lady Kura would never have allowed my relationship."

"Did I hear my name being called?" Kura walked into the room. The room silenced as Kagome noted the others holding their breath.

Kura turned her head to Kagome and spoke sweetly, "Oh my, I did not know you were here Lady Miko. Just the person I wished to see."

Everyone stiffened with tension. Only Kagome raised a brow, amused by Kura's different attitude. She watched as Kura kneeled and bowed.

"Forgive me for being rude, Lady Kagome. I have reflected on my actions for the past few days. And I am prepared for any punishment you see fit for your forgiveness," Kura said.

Kagome felt everyone's eyes on her waiting to see how she would respond. She couldn't tell if Kura was being sincere or not. But she couldn't turn down Kura's request either. Narrowing her eyes, she decided to test Kura's sincerity.

"I will forgive you on one condition," Kagome voiced sternly, "That you give up your position as 'Tsu' leader." She watched Kura closely as her eyes widened in shock.

Kura lifted her head upwards and cried out, "There is no one capable enough to be leader other than myself!"

"Chika is more than capable," Kagome said. She calmly observed Kura struggling to decide.

"As you wish," Kura mumbled, once again lowering her head.

Shifting her gaze to Chika, Kagome said softly, "I gave you this position because I believe you will guide the 'Tsu' rank in the right direction. Use your position wisely, Chika."

Seeing no need to stay in the room for any longer, Kagome left behind a crowd of shocked demonesses. She immediately headed for the gardens and searched for the flower field.

A wide open space covered in white lilies came to view. Lying down in the middle of the flower field, Kagome looked up to the blue sky. Too consumed by her thoughts, she did not care for her un-lady-like appearance. Several strands of onyx hair scattered on the green grass, her silk haori was now dirtied with soil. But her mind could only care for the questions that swirled unanswered.

Did she do the right thing?

Would placing Chika as leader fix the corruption Kura had done?

Was Kura sincere about stepping down so easily?

She felt doubt beginning to spread through her, wondering if what she had done was correct. Taking a deep breath, the scent of lilies washed over her senses. A calming sensation rushed through her, releasing her from any tenseness. A peaceful smile gently tugged on her lips. The smell of lilies always seemed to chase away her worries. Remembering the piles of scrolls in Sesshomaru's study, she wondered if the scent of lilies would help ease the stressful duty. Sitting up from her lying position, she began plucking white lilies.

Kagome felt a cool breeze pass her causing the flowers in her hand to rustle in the wind. Seeing that she had plucked just enough lilies, she headed towards Sesshomaru's study.

Sesshomaru paused as he heard light footsteps nearing his study. The scent of lilies reached his sensitive nose and silently drank in the smell. Invisible to the eye, Sesshomaru's shoulders slightly shifted in relax.

"Come in," Kagome was slightly taken aback when she heard his voice gentler than usual. Pausing for a second, she blinked away the odd feeling. Soon, a warm smile made its way onto her lips. Pushing the door open, she saw the piles of scrolls stacked on his desk again. Kagome walked towards the window and replaced the old lilies with the new ones she had plucked today.

Glancing Sesshomaru's way, Kagome locked eyes with his. Surprised that he was suddenly looking at her, she did not notice that his eyes were narrowed.

"Miko," she heard the chill in his voice, "What did they do to you." Kagome was confused by his comment and tilted her head to the side in question.

"What do you mean-" Kagome asked as she was cut off by his sharp words.

"I can smell their scent of thick perfume and you are covered in soil," his words came out frustrated.

Clueless blue eyes stared down at her clothes and widened at what she saw. Grass stains and soil smeared across the silk material, while wrinkles appeared everywhere. She really looked like she had been in a fight of some sort. Realization dawned upon her as Sesshomaru's words clicked in her head.

He thought the 'Tsu' demonesses she had met a while ago had caused her messy appearance.

Though she found the situation hilarious, the warmth that flowed through her at the thought of Sesshomaru's worrisome behavior won against the laughter that wished to escape.

She sent him a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry, I was rolling around in the flower field."

Sesshomaru silently let out a sigh. The anger that was directed at the 'Tsu' demonesses vanished. He had assumed the demonesses betrayed the respect he had seen them direct towards the Miko. Yet, he did not understand why he felt relieved that his assumption was incorrect.

"Rolling around in the flower field," Sesshomaru echoed backed the Miko's words.

Crimson color flushed her cheeks as she heard how silly she sounded. Seeing Sesshomaru's eyes flicker with amusement, her blush deepened.

"And I met with the 'Tsu' girls and Kura," Kagome blurted out quickly to escape his stare.

Noting his expression return stoic, she explained, "She greeted me with a totally different attitude and asked for my forgiveness."

His expression darkened.

"And you believe her?" he questioned. He remembered that demoness bad mouthing the Miko to him not too long ago. It was most doubtful that she was sincere about her plead for forgiveness. But seeing the Miko's conflicted expression, he wasn't surprised that she would give that demoness a second chance.

Hinting his doubtfulness, Kagome reassured, "I will keep an eye out for her, Sesshomaru."

"Hn," he tried to ignore the tight feeling around his chest.

Her decision to strip Kura's position and place Chika as leader sank into her head. She had felt uneasy about this decision because she knew there would be consequences. Kura had already created connections with several unknown demons. By replacing Kura, that would anger the unknown demons that favoured her.

"I replaced Kura's position and entrusted the 'Tsu' rank with Chika," Kagome voiced boldly with determination.

Sesshomaru felt his blood turn ice cold the moment the Miko had told him of her actions; dangerous actions. Golden eyes hardened to conceal the mixture of shock and anger that coursed through his body. A heavy silence filled the study room. Beginning to feel the chill behind his stare, Kagome diverted her gaze.

"You should have stuck with just gaining other's respect," he voiced coldly. Why wouldn't she just remain silent and go about things silently? Why was she so determined to fight anything and everything that was seen as wrong in her eyes? His mind raced with predictions to calculate the amount of danger she had placed upon herself. But no matter how he looked at it, she had willingly placed herself in a vulnerable position and created many enemies due to her actions.

His anger and frustration managed to slip past his control.

"Now you tread too far, Miko," a snarl escaped. Sesshomaru was unaware of the shiver that trembled through her body at his cold words. He was only aware of the growing sensation of threat; the threat of her own safety.

Kagome felt slightly shocked by his coldness; his harsh words. But, she would not back down on her decision. Any consequences from her choice would be hers to deal with. Confused by his odd behavior, Kagome tried to observe his reason.

"Leave," he said stoically with a hint of anger. Slightly jumping from the order, Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru one last time before exiting the study.

Sensing her aura distance, Sesshomaru slowly closed his eyes to rein back control in his body.

_Panic_.

His hand clenched.

Why did he even care?

Golden eyes blinked open. The emotions that raged past them had now calmed as if tied to a conclusion. In the empty study room with only the inuyoukai, an unforeseen decision was made.

The Miko was no longer a stranger or like the rest.

The inuyoukai grudgingly admitted that she held some importance.

So if any demon attempted to harm the Miko, he would step in.

She was, after all, the future intended of the Western Land Prince.

Unknown to the inuyoukai, a small seed had been planted within his heart. A seed that acknowledged her importance to him alone; a seed he ignored.

**Author's Note: I hope you are enjoying the story so far. From here on…things should get more interesting.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	11. It began with a Tug

**Chapter Eleven- It began with a Tug**

The light echo of footsteps sounded within the Castle hallways. White lilies freshly plucked from under the sun were held in Kagome's hands. Her blue eyes had a faraway look within them. Sesshomaru's cold words and attitude did not leave her thoughts. She was still clueless as to why he was acting so.

Kagome finally noticed that her feet had unconsciously stopped in front of Sesshomaru's study. Looking down at the lilies in her hand they became her reason to confront him. Knocking on the wooden door, she waited patiently for his response. But, Kagome was too deep in thought that she did not notice that another person lay behind the door.

"Come in," she heard Sesshomaru's usual stoic voice call out. Releasing a slightly relieved sigh, she wondered if he was no longer angry at her. Pushing the door open, her eyes immediately caught the color of red and silver.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly as she ran towards him. Catching her friend off guard, she embraced him tightly. Kagome quickly pulled away to see his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. So happy to see Inuyasha's return, she embraced him lightly once more.

But a chilling voice cut her excitement short, "Your reunion can be done elsewhere, Miko."

Glancing at Sesshomaru, she saw his golden eyes reveal nothing. Kagome wondered if he was still angry at her from the tone of his voice. Sending him an apologetic look, she let go of Inuyasha and walked towards the lily vase to place in the lilies she brought.

"There were no complaints sent from the villages you patrolled," Kagome heard Sesshomaru voice impassively.

"It seems you have managed to stay away from trouble," Sesshomaru continued to say. Peaking at Inuyasha, she saw him puff up his chest and tilt his nose upwards. Kagome softly snickered at her friend's prideful appearance.

"Your intended, on the other hand," Sesshomaru's voice suddenly hardened and held more anger, "Seems to enjoy stirring up trouble."

Kagome glared at Sesshomaru feeling hurt by his cold attitude. From the sound of his comment, Kagome knew he was still angry with her. Guessing he was angry that she meddled with the 'Tsu' rank's affairs, she retorted, "Well at least I don't ignore corruption."

Golden eyes narrowed as Sesshomaru said sharply, "Do not think you are solving the issue."

"If you think that doing nothing is fixing the issue then you aren't any better!" Red cheeks flushed Kagome's face as anger simmered beneath her skin.

A heavy tension filled the study room as both Kagome and Sesshomaru glared at each other. Neither of them diverted their attention; neither wishing to lose to the other.

"What did you do, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked her with a serious expression. Hearing Inuyasha side with Sesshomaru, she broke away from Sesshomaru's eyes to look at Inuyasha with a devastated expression. But observing that Inuyasha held a frown on his face, Kagome knew he was worried.

"I did nothing wrong," she said stubbornly. She did not regret anything she did. How could she? Her choice to replace Kura with Chika would strip Kura's ability to corrupt the 'Tsu' rank. Even if Kura did seem sincere with her apology and reflection, it did not prevent Kura from continuing her corrupted actions. After seeing the hopeful expressions from the 'Tsu' rank, no, she did not regret anything. Seeing that both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru did not view things her way, she walked out of the study. There was no point in voicing her thoughts, she would show them instead.

Inuyasha watched Kagome leave the room before glancing at Sesshomaru for answers. As if knowing what Inuyasha wanted to hear, Sesshomaru said curtly, "The Miko replaced the 'Tsu' leader."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in realization of what Kagome had done and exclaimed loudly, "Shit!"

Inuyasha knew of Kura's corrupted actions, but also knew of her tight ties with many powerful demons. There had been a reason why no one bothered to interfere or address Kura's dirty works. Releasing a groan, Inuyasha dragged his hand along his face. He shouldn't have been so surprised at the chaos Kagome had gotten herself into while he was gone.

"She always attracts trouble," Inuyasha mumbled to himself, while regretting leaving in the first place.

"Hn," Sesshomaru agreed with Inuyasha for the first time.

A glower darkened Inuyasha's face. He doubted that he would be able to protect Kagome from anyone in the demon society. Growling at the disadvantage he had within the demon society, he sent Sesshomaru a weary gaze.

Hesitating with his words, Inuyasha said reluctantly, "I ask for a favor."

Sesshomaru raised a brow with a stoic mask in place. He wondered what could push Inuyasha to ever ask him for a favor.

"Kagome will probably be in danger and I am in no position to protect her. Would you?" Inuyasha requested grudgingly as he cursed his weakness.

Golden eyes narrowed at Inuyasha. Ignoring the tightening around his chest, he silently considered Inuyasha's request. He had already decided to assist the Miko when troubled for she now belonged to the Western Lands. Yet, to brand this duty as _protecting_ her caused his chest irritation.

"On the condition that you owe me," Sesshomaru said stoically.

Inuyasha looked shocked for he did not think Sesshomaru would agree with him so easily. Nodding his head in agreement to the condition, his amber eyes still reflected shock. As Sesshomaru returned to reading through scrolls, Inuyasha left the study in a daze.

_Thud_.

The sound of the door closing resounded in the silent study. Golden eyes that were scanning through a report paused. Sesshomaru shifted his gaze to the fresh lilies near the window.

_Tug._

His chest tightened from the thought of protecting the Miko.

An unsettling feeling coursed through his body.

The thought of placing a condition to protect the Miko bothered him. But like all duties, there needed to be some sort of benefit for him.

_Tug._

Minutes passed by as Sesshomaru tried to collect his confusing thoughts that did not make any sense. Getting up from his seat, he walked towards the window. Breathing in the scent of lilies, he closed his eyes in hopes to calm his thoughts. But just as he was about to close his eyes, he spotted the Miko and Inuyasha in the flower field. Golden eyes were fixed on Inuyasha's hand that rested on the Miko's shoulder.

_Tug._

-Evening Ceremony-

"What did you do to get so close with Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asked out of the blue. Kagome's jaws dropped at Inuyasha's question as her hands released the braid she had been working on.

"What!?" Kagome said with confusion. Of course during Inuyasha's absence she felt like she built some sort of bond with Sesshomaru. But, she had no idea how Inuyasha could come up with that assumption.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed as he continued, "I thought Sesshomaru was going to kill you the moment you talked back at him. I _know_ him, Kagome. What did you two do while I was gone?"

Blue eyes widened in astonishment. She had always thought Inuyasha was a bit slow at noticing things, but maybe he had grown. Revealing a sheepish grin she answered, "I wouldn't say he thinks of me as a friend…yet. But, hopefully we can be. After all, he _will_ be my brother-in-law."

Kagome giggled as she saw Inuyasha's ears turn slightly pink while diverting his eyes elsewhere.

"Keh," he grunted to cover his embarrassment. Inuyasha knew Kagome had the ability to change the people around her. But, Sesshomaru had been the last person he thought Kagome would approach to get close with. Inuyasha's expression turned serious as he said, "You would have been killed on the spot if you were anyone else, Kagome."

Wrapping her arm around his she said reassuringly, "Well, it _wa_s me so there's nothing to be worried about."

Inuyasha sent Kagome a worried look. He still felt shocked that Sesshomaru didn't harm Kagome at all for talking back. Just because Kagome was his intended mate did not mean Sesshomaru didn't have the right to harm her. Inuyasha knew Kagome meant more to Sesshomaru than just an in law. But it was just so hard to imagine Sesshomaru having a friend.

Excited to introduce Inuyasha to all her friends, Kagome's anger from this afternoon was completely forgotten. Tugging onto Inuyasha's arm, she dragged him to the ceremony hall.

Feeling Inuyasha's footsteps slow down her pace, Kagome said with annoyance, "Come on, Inuyasha, you are walking too slowly!"

She heard him grumble before walking the same pace as her. Entering into the ceremony hall, Kagome immediately noticed the 'Mu' and 'Tsu' rank headed towards her. She smiled brightly as she waved towards them in greeting. Seeing both the 'Mu' and 'Tsu' rank bow in return, she glanced to see Inuyasha's eyes widen.

Noticing that both ranks were near enough, she announced, "This is my intended mate, Inuyasha."

Silence fell upon the two ranks after Kagome's introduction. Though Kagome knew Inuyasha held a bad reputation, she hoped the two ranks would accept him. As the silence prolonged, Kagome observed Inuyasha's eyes show hesitance.

"Hello, Prince Inuyasha, my name is Akihiro. I am honored to meet the intended of our respected Lady Kagome," Akihiro voiced loudly trying to cover up his nervousness.

Kagome couldn't help but send Akihiro a warm smile for his bravery. Her attention turned to Chika as she stepped forward and said, "And I am Chika, speaker of the 'Tsu' rank. Our rank is pleased to finally meet your acquaintance."

Gazing up at Inuyasha, Kagome's heart warmed at the shock seen in his eyes. She tugged on his arm to stand closer towards him. Kagome was relieved to see his cold mask disappear as she heard him say, "The pleasure is all mine, Akihiro and Chika."

Kagome pulled on his arm to introduce him to the other members. Soon, the tense air was replaced with laughter as Kagome told stories of her adventures with Inuyasha.

Kagome saw his amber eyes gradually warm up towards both the ranks.

She noticed his real character crack through his cold front here and there.

Her heart that ached for Inuyasha seemed to mend.

Warmth embraced her as blue eyes softened towards the sight of her dear friend.

All who surrounded the Miko saw a gentle smile grace her lips.

And all who saw the beautiful smile felt their heart skip a beat.

Sesshomaru turned his gaze away from the Miko. Not finding the need to stay for the entire ceremony, he headed towards his study. He couldn't deny his amazement at the Miko's ability to make the 'Mu' and 'Tsu' rank accept Inuyasha. For so long, Inuyasha had been the black sheep of the demon society which tainted the Western Lands. If the Miko continued to gain other ranks to respect her, Inuyasha's reputation was bound to improve. This would erase the taint placed over the Western Land. Sesshomaru knew Inuyasha had done something wise for the first time; making the Miko as his intended.

_Tug_.

**Author's Note: Dear readers, your views are my motivation, and your reviews are my inspiration. I can't thank you enough.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	12. The Trap

**Chapter Twelve- The Trap**

A giggle escaped her lips as she saw Inuyasha's grumpy face. Turning away from the mirror, Kagome stood before Inuyasha fully dressed for the evening ceremony.

"Emiko told me that the ceremonies will begin to die down after today, Inuyasha," Kagome informed trying to lighten Inuyasha's grumpy face.

Inuyasha's expression darkened a bit more before saying, "I have a feeling we shouldn't attend tonight, Kagome. Something feels off."

She too had felt the change to the Castle's atmosphere as well.

"We should attend then, Inuyasha," she replied sternly.

Releasing a sigh, Inuyasha mumbled under his breathe, "You and your curiosity always bringin trouble."

Inuyasha was once again dragged off to the ceremony hall for the evening. But once the two entered past the doors, Kagome noted Chika and Hisashi's absence. Walking towards the 'Tsu' rank, Kagome saw Kura's face express worry.

"What happened? Where are Chika and Hisashi?" Kagome asked.

"It's terrible, Lady Miko," Kagome heard Kura voice with worry, "Hisashi was severely wounded after trying to protect Chika from an attack by a demon. Chika has gone to attend his wounds!"

Kagome's eyes widened in shock after hearing the news and asked, "Did you find out who it was?"

Kura nodded her head and whispered, "The 'Gon' leader."

Narrowing her eyes, its ocean blue color darkened. Kagome was about to march towards the 'Gon' leader and teach him a lesson for harming her friends. But as she turned around, the 'Gon' leader stood behind her with a grin on his face.

"Looking for me?" the 'Gon' leader asked with a cocky voice.

"I warned you about harming my friends," Kagome said dangerously. Noting the 'Gon' leader's expression unchanging from a smirk, Kagome wondered what he had up his sleeve.

The 'Gon' leader folded his arms as he stated, "I just put Chika in her place. Kura is the only 'Tsu' rank leader I will allow."

"Please stop this!" Kura pleaded towards the 'Gon' leader.

Kagome froze in her position. She knew she had placed herself in a vulnerable spot to the demons who favoured Kura, but she had not expected them to harm Chika. Fearing for her friend's safety, Kagome confessed, "I was the one who placed Chika as the 'Tsu' leader."

Sesshomaru, who had been observing from afar, narrowed his eyes. Did the Miko not see that she had fallen for the 'Gon' leaders trap? Now, all the demons would know who had been the one behind replacing Kura's position.

"Oh ho? _You_ were the one to replace Kura with Chika?" the 'Gon' leader taunted. Quickly switching faces from an amused expression to a snarl, the 'Gon' leader growled, "Who are you to do that? Your rank hasn't even accepted you as a 'Sho' yet. So why should anyone else?"

"What do you mean!? Kagome is officially a 'Sho' rank!" Kagome heard Inuyasha yell from behind her.

She steadied her eyes to observe the 'Gon' leader carefully as he spoke, "None of us has actually seen how powerful she is. She should be tested."

"Demons are never tested after being ranked! That law was rid of decades ago!" Inuyasha snarled back at the 'Gon' leader. He knew of the dirty trick the leader was planning and he wouldn't allow it to happen.

"You forget, half-breed! She is human!" The 'Gon' leader barked back angrily. Kagome quickly glanced at Inuyasha and laid a hand on his arm. She knew Inuyasha would defend her, even in the demon society where he would no argue back for himself.

"Are you saying that if I am approved as a 'Sho' rank you would allow Chika as the 'Tsu' leader?" Kagome asked. She did not care much for her rank. But if her position protected her decision for the 'Tsu' rank, then she would fight to keep her rank.

Sesshomaru decided to step in before the Miko fell for the 'Gon' leaders trap. A chilling voice brought the 'Gon' leader's smirk to disappear, "Learn your place, the Miko is a 'Sho' rank."

Fear visibly trembled through the 'Gon' leader as his attention was directed towards Sesshomaru. After gulping down some of his fear, the 'Gon' leader stuttered, "B-but L-lord Se-sesshomaru! N-No one w-will re-respect her for-for her rank i-if she de-denies to prove h-her strength!"

Golden eyes narrowed dangerously at the 'Gon' leader.

"Hn, and who are they?" Sesshomaru voiced dripping with acid as he cracked his hand. The thick scent of fear was now emitting from the pathetic 'Gon' leader. Noting that the pathetic creature would no longer challenge the Miko's rank, Sesshomaru turned to leave.

"If you want to test my powers, test me!" Sesshomaru heard the Miko yell. Golden eyes briefly flickered to crimson as Sesshomaru glared at the Miko.

Kagome ignored Sesshomaru's glare. She knew he was furious at her for undoing his action of protecting her. But she did not wish to keep her rank because other's feared Sesshomaru to question her powers. It was not fair to others who worked hard to reach the 'Sho' rank on their own strength. She would only keep her rank if other's found her worthy of the title. If there were demons who doubted her, she would prove to them.

"Your….your powers can be tested by fighting against the 'Sho' leader. Then he will decide whether you are deserving of the rank!" the 'Gon' leader managed to blurt out, even though he stunk of fear.

Whispers spread like fire through the crowd of demons.

Inuyasha laid a hand on Kagome's shoulders to warn her. He knew the rumors about how powerful the 'Sho' leader was; the leader who had supposedly turned down the rank of Daiyoukai because he did not wish to take on the responsibilities that came along with the rank. But as soon as Inuyasha's eyes saw the determination that shined through her eyes, the hold on her shoulder faltered. She would not change her mind no matter what he said; he knew this for a fact.

"Deal," Kagome answered. The whispers grew louder amongst the crowd. Noticing that Sesshomaru had walked off into the direction of the gardens, Kagome followed after him.

"Kagome, you shouldn't follow after him," she heard Inuyasha advise her.

"I'll be fine, Inuyasha," she tried to reassure him. She had to thank him for trying to rescue her and apologize to him for undoing his rescue attempt. Making her way towards the huge ancient tree, Kagome assumed she would find Sesshomaru there. And like she thought, she found Sesshomaru standing with his back faced towards her. Kagome innocently walked closer to him until she was a feet away. Just as she was about to call out his name, a clawed hand gripped her shoulder painfully and pushed her against the tree. She winced at the pain on her shoulder and back at the impact.

"Miko," his voice snarled deeply. Kagome flinched at the feeling of his claws dig into her shoulder.

"You should have stayed silent!" he roared furiously. Her eyes widened in shock from his raised voice.

Even through her shock, she managed to mumble out, "But Sessho-"

Only to be cut off by his growl, "Do you know who you are up against? Did you think you could be more powerful than the 'Sho' leader? Think again, Miko. You will lose your rank and regret what you have done."

Kagome ignored the sweat that trailed down her forehead from the pain in her shoulder. Her pained expression softened towards the angry inuyoukai before her. Slowly placing her hand on top of his that dug into her shoulder, she felt Sesshomaru tense from the touch.

"I don't plan on winning, Sesshomaru. I plan to just fight the best I can," she explained hoping to calm him down if he could understand her reason.

Squeezing his tense hand lightly, Kagome said, "Thank you for trying to save me from the 'Gon' leader's trap, but I will not allow anyone to replace Chika as leader. Also, I really didn't want people to accept my rank just because you threatened to punish those who did question my powers."

She saw confusion behind his hardened gold eyes. Kagome knew that he was confused as to why she was working so hard to protect Chika's position. To her, protecting Chika's position was the start of ridding the darkness within the demon society. To her, it meant unveiling the hidden beauties. To her, it was meant to melt the cold, hardened, eyes.

A sad smile tugged on her lips as she told him, "You know, I was so devastated when I figured out what Kura had been doing to the other 'Tsu' girls. But what made me cry was the cold look in your eye as if you were now used to the corruption found in the demon society."

Sesshomaru felt his eyes widen. Recalling the time the Miko had cried in front of him, he realized those tears had been for him.

"Do you understand now, why I want to bring change, no matter how small of a change it may be? I don't want to see anymore cold or hardened eyes, Sesshomaru. It pains me to see you like that," Kagome said with a tremble, also thinking that the same reason applied to Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru stared into her blue eyes that darken with sorrow and soon swelled with tears. Her eyes alone displayed the storm that raged within her and seemed to transfer the swirl of emotions to him.

Warm blue eyes melted the icy glaze behind his golden eyes.

Her fiery passion sent a burning sensation spread through his chest.

For a brief second, Sesshomaru wished to see what was so beautiful about the demon society through her eyes.

He wanted to see the beauty she fought for with all her might.

She was the first...

To capture his interest for so long,

To cry for him,

To talk back at him,

To make him worry,

And to make him protective of her.

There was truly none like her.

"You are a strange creature," Sesshomaru muttered in a low voice. Thinking he was insulting her, Kagome sent him a glare only to find his eyes looking at her softly. A light gasp escaped her lips from the tender look she did not think Sesshomaru was capable of expressing. But soon, a bright smile appeared on her face from the joy to see that he understood her.

"Kagome, you should call me Kagome, Sesshomaru," she teased him. Feeling the grip on her shoulder lift, she felt him guide her back towards the Castle.

_Crack_.

The seed buried deep down in the inuyoukai's heart cracked open and began to plant roots. It was only a matter of time now, before the inuyoukai can no longer ignore the seed taking root within his heart; the seed that represented the Miko's importance.

**Author's Note: Another update...for being amazing readers!**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	13. The 'Sho' Rank

**Chapter Thirteen- The 'Sho' Rank**

_Knock Knock_

Silence.

Inuyasha knocked once more. He could smell her scent from behind the door, yet she did not seem to answer. Annoyed by being kept waiting, he called out, "Kagome?"

Suddenly, the door was opened by her maid. Sensing the maid's distress, Inuyasha asked, "What is wrong?"

"Milady's shoulder…" the maid whispered out before being cut off by Kagome's sharp words.

"Emiko! Enough," she voiced sternly, causing Emiko to bite on her lips.

However, Inuyasha knew Kagome well enough to know that she always tried to hide things from him. Marching up to her, he stood in front of her as she was sitting on her bed fully dressed. Inuyasha slipped her haori down to her shoulders.

Kagome's eyes widen in shock.

A gasp was heard from the maid from his bold actions.

A growl rumbled past Inuyasha's throat.

Her exposed right shoulder was covered in black and blue marks.

The claw marks along the bruise notified him exactly who caused the ugly injury.

Growling even louder, Inuyasha snarled, "Sesshomaru!" But just as he was about to go confront the bastard, he was stopped by her hand. Inuyasha didn't bother to conceal his anger as he glared at Kagome.

"I told you not to follow him! Look what he did to you! Where else did he harm you!? I'll kill the bastard!" Inuyasha yelled out.

Kagome waited for Inuyasha's frustrations to be let out before she spoke. She continued to hold her grip on Inuyasha's hand just to make sure he didn't charge towards Sesshomaru in anger. Seeing that he was done yelling, Kagome said, "Inuyasha, he was angry because of my stubbornness."

Inuyasha frowned disapprovingly, even though he knew how difficult Kagome was with her stubbornness.

The memory of Sesshomaru's tender look caused her eyes to soften. Kagome smiled affectionately from the memory and voiced warmly, "But now he understands why I am doing this."

Confusion had replaced the frown on Inuyasha's face. He had no idea what Sesshomaru understood about Kagome, or what Kagome was trying to 'do'. Releasing a sigh, he knew he could never understand the way her mind worked or why she did certain things. No normal human woman would try to change the corruption that was found in a demon society. But, he did know that her determination to change things had to do with her growing up in the modern era.

"Well, I'm glad there's one person that understands the reason behind your crazy actions. Cause I definitely don't, Kagome!" Inuyasha said with annoyance.

Fumbling to fix her haori, Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's temper tantrums. As a sudden loud knock was heard on her door she watched Emiko open the door. Recognizing the demon as a 'Gon' rank, Kagome asked, "How may I help you?"

She watched the demon stiffly bow towards her proving that not all the 'Gon' rank dismissed her rank.

"The match against the 'Sho' leader has been decided to begin in one hour," the demon reported.

"No! She cannot fight today," Inuyasha barked at the demon angrily. He knew that the bruise on her shoulder would prevent her from fighting with her full abilities.

Still positioned in a bow, the demon asked, "Then does Milady forfeit the challenge?"

"I shall be ready within the hour," Kagome responded, notifying the demon that she still accepted the challenge.

Inuyasha quickly interrupted, "No way! Kagome-,"

"Sit," she said as Inuyasha slammed onto the marble floor. Glaring at her fallen friend, she dared him to defy her decisions. But only the mumbling of curses beneath his breath could be heard, which indicated her win. Shooing the 'Gon' ranked demon away, Kagome informed Emiko to help dress her in appropriate attire.

Red and white, they were the colors of the Miko garb Kagome was dressed in. A silk sash dyed in the color of light purple twisted in an elegant fashion around her waist to signify her status as a 'Sho' rank. She knew the purple sash was meant to be taken off if the 'Sho' leader disapproved of her powers.

The echo of her footsteps reached her ear as she followed Emiko to a part of the Western Castle she had never passed by before. Seeing Emiko lead her outdoors, the view of a crowd of demons was seen.

Blue eyes scanned the scene before her.

Sesshomaru sat in a throne-like chair right in the middle of the crowd as the rest of the demons were positioned on his left and right. Training her eyes on Sesshomaru, she waited for him to look at her. But even though her entrance was announced, his golden eyes looked straight forward as if avoiding her. Tilting her head slightly to the side, her eyebrow cocked in confusion and wondered if he was just too deep in thought to notice her. Kagome shrugged off the feeling of disappointment and shifted her gaze towards the field where a tall demon stood. Just by looking at him in a glance, she could tell that he was the 'Sho' leader and powerful.

She walked towards the 'Sho' leader and stopped a few metres away. Kagome bowed low before him, even though she knew he would not return a bow. As she looked up her eyes met with his and saw a frown darken his expression. Disgust reflected in his eyes, yet she felt the disgust was not directed towards her.

"You are to fight until I say so," the 'Sho' leader said in a monotone. Kagome nodded her head to indicate she understood the condition of the fight. He then positioned himself towards Sesshomaru and bowed. Following to do the same, the disappointment grew within her as golden eyes averted from her stare once again.

"Begin," Sesshomaru voiced stoically. Though his voice revealed nothing, Sesshomaru tightened his hold around the arm chair. Kagome felt her gaze linger towards Sesshomaru. Distracted, she didn't see the incoming attack until the last minute. A pink barrier, placed mere inches from her face, blocked the 'Sho' leader's punch.

'Strong,' Kagome thought as she was slightly pushed back from the force of his punch. The 'Sho' leader continued with his attacks, giving her no room to do anything but block.

Block after block after block, Kagome finally understood the trap she had fallen into. The 'Sho' leader never planned to test her powers from the beginning. He wanted to strip her of her rank and would not allow her to prove her powers. Seeing the 'Sho' leader sending another attack with his fist, Kagome caught his wrist and pulled him close. Her blue eyes glared into his to show him that she knew of what he was doing. But, the look of disgust once again flashed through his eyes, which both shocked and distracted her with another realization.

_Pain_.

It was too late before Kagome noted that the 'Sho' leader had twisted free from her grasp and landed a hit on her right arm. Wincing at the doubled pain from the bruise and the attack, Kagome staggered backwards.

Golden eyes hardened as the grip around the arm chair tightened. The blow she took to her right arm shouldn't have been as painful as she seemed to appear to be. Inuyasha, who knew the reason for Kagome's pain, couldn't remain silent and snarled out, "Her left shoulder was already bruised with claw marks this morning."

Sesshomaru felt his entire body tense from Inuyasha's comment. He remembered taking his anger out on her while grabbing her right shoulder. Blurred by his anger, he did not realize that he had harmed her as badly.

Suddenly, Kagome's cry rang in his ear. Golden eyes flickered crimson at the scene before him. The 'Sho' leader had caught onto her weakness and landed a few blows onto her right shoulder. Sesshomaru felt his chest twist painfully as he watched Kagome's body rack with pain. Using his authority as the Host, he had the power to stop the challenge.

"Don't you dare stop the fight, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha grumbled out reluctantly. Half of him wanted to allow Sesshomaru to go ahead and stop the match. But the other half of him knew more than anyone that the match needs to continue for Kagome's sake.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Do not think to order this Sesshomaru."

"She decided to still fight even knowing her injury!" Inuyasha said angrily.

"You should have stopped her," Sesshomaru said coated with malice.

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted, "You think I didn't try? That girl won't listen to no one!"

The sound of flesh hitting flesh was heard. Both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru quickly returned their attention towards the match. The scene before them caused one to begin growling while the other struggled to control the burst of anger that raged from within.

The 'Sho' leader held a tight grasp on Kagome's right arm. With the other hand, he punched directly onto her injury. It only took three hits before the sound of her bone cracking was heard. A pink barrier was quickly placed before another hit by the 'Sho' leader was landed.

An unknown emotion flickered past stoic eyes.

Claws began to dig into the wooden arm chair.

The faint sound of wood cracking was heard.

_Pain_.

Kagome felt her sweat dripping down her face.

Her right arm was numb from straining too much pain.

Barely holding in her cries, she continued to block all the attacks.

Yet, every attack seemed to become more painful to block.

She had figured the 'Sho' leader was a rather calm character than an aggressive character. Inuyasha's information about the 'Sho' leader's decision to reject the Daiyoukai rank proved her assumption to be correct. So, the only reason to push the 'Sho' leader into fighting must be because of her decision to replace Kura.

Noting the flash of disgust deepen within the 'Sho' leader's eyes, Kagome knew he was preparing for the last blow. Finally understanding everything, she quickly searched for an opening. Dark blue powers swirled around the 'Sho' leader's fist and aimed for her stomach in demonic speed. To Kagome, everything moved in slow motion. Her blue eyes darkened as it was fixed upon the incoming fist. Moving towards the attack, she pushed his fist to the side and slammed her other hand into his chest with a blast of her powers.

Within seconds, the game had changed.

The 'Sho' leader had fallen on one knee a few feet away. The grass held drag marks from the force of being pushed back by the Miko. The crowd of demons that witnessed this began to whisper. It shocked even the 'Sho' leader that a mere human could knock him down with one blow.

Kagome narrowed her eyes and prepared herself for another attack. The 'Sho' leader raised his hand and announced, "Enough."

Dropping her fighting position, Kagome still felt her body tense to prepare for the 'Sho' leader's decision. She told herself not to be surprised if the 'Sho' leader still decided to strip away her rank. During the fight, she concluded that the 'Sho' leader was indeed one of the demons that favoured Kura. The 'Gon' leader had purposely requested the 'Sho' leader to fight her knowing that he would strip her from her rank no matter how much she proved her powers. Grimacing, Kagome cursed her foolishness for falling into their trap.

"Miko," she heard the 'Sho' leader call out. Raising her attention to look at him, she saw his confusion. The 'Sho' leader asked, "Why did you not use your purification powers? Your purification powers could have been used when blocking and attacking, yet I stand here without a single burn."

Slightly surprised that he had noticed, Kagome responded softly, "Was this not challenge to test my powers? I see no reason why it should result with harming you."

Astonishment remained on the 'Sho' leader's face.

"I attacked you without giving you room to attack. I injured your shoulder purposely knowing it was your weakness. Did you not realize it was not my intention to test you?" The 'Sho' leader spoke with more confusion.

"I saw disgust in your eyes," Kagome voiced faintly. Blue eyes unveiled deep understanding as she continued, "I figured out that you were disgusted by your own actions as if you did not wish to fight me the way you did."

Kagome watched with amazement as the 'Sho' leader revealed a calm expression, just like how she had imagined him to be. Raising his hand again, the 'Sho' leader exclaimed, "I now decide whether the Miko is deserving of the 'Sho' rank."

A silence fell upon the crowd of demons.

Kagome's eyes widened as she saw the 'Sho' leader bowing before her and state, "Welcome to the 'Sho' rank, Miko. You deserve the title."

A loud cheer rang through the field causing the ground to rumble from the noise.

Returning a bow, Kagome said gratefully, "Thank you, leader! Thank you!"

A bright smile graced Kagome's lips and Sesshomaru knew it was caused by her thoughts on saving the 'Tsu' leader's position. Knowing Kagome was in pain, Sesshomaru slightly moved in his seat to reach her. But just as he was about to stand, he saw Inuyasha rush past him and head towards her. Freezing in his position, he knew it was not his duty to care for her injuries.

Golden eyes watched as Inuyasha picked Kagome up in a bridal style. Though she stubbornly struggled in Inuyasha's arms, she soon gave up after wincing in pain. Sesshomaru saw Kagome leaning into Inuyasha's chest before they disappeared into the Castle.

_Crack._

The demons that surrounded Sesshomaru glanced to see their Lord's arm chair broken into pieces. Fear spread throughout the crowd of demons for they knew the chair was made out of wood that was known to be difficult to break. All flinched as they watched their Lord silently stand up and leave.

-Somewhere inside the Castle-

Heavy footsteps came to a stop. Glancing at the shadow, the 'Sho' leader recognized who it was and called out, "Lady Inari."

Pushing off against the wall she had been leaning on, she walked towards the lighting. A smirk appeared on her face as she teased, "Weren't you supposed to strip the Shikon Miko of her title?"

"The Miko deserves the rank, Lady Inari," Ryou, the 'Sho' leader, answered.

"How disappointing," Lady Inari voiced with displeasure, "I wanted to see the Miko at the very bottom of our ranks, Ryou."

Bowing before Lady Inari, Ryou said calmly, "My apologies."

"Leader Ryou! Leader Ryou!" the voice of the 'Gon' leader echoed in the hallways. Not wishing to be in the presence of the 'Gon' leader, Lady Inari walked away before saying, "Looks like I am not the only one displeased by your performance, Ryou."

A silent sigh escaped Ryou's lips as he turned to see a disheveled demon.

"Wha- This- You didn't do as we planned, Leader Ryou! You were supposed to strip her of her title! If you acknowledge her rank, then that human wrench will be above me! She will destroy me for challenging her and now Kura will be permanently replaced! Do something! Challenge her again!" The 'Gon' leader yelled out angrily.

"I think you've misunderstood the situation," Ryou said calmly. Staring down at the 'Gon' leader, he heard him say, "What do you mean? Of course I understand, just do something to destroy the wrench!"

Shaking his head, Ryou said, "See, you don't understand at all." The 'Gon' leader looked frustrated at the vague comment.

"You see, if you _did_ understand the situation, I would have slaughtered you on the spot," Ryou said dangerously even though his expression remained calm.

The 'Gon' leader stank of fear as visible trembles shook through his body.

"The Miko is a 'Sho' rank now, one whom I have come to respect. Disrespect her again and I will consider your actions as disrespecting me," Ryou said as he patted the 'Gon' leader's shoulder. Watching the 'Gon' leader flinch from his touch, Ryou calmly walked away.

Heavy footsteps resumed its echo in the hallways.

A calm aura encircled Ryou as he continued to wander the halls.

He knew that had she used her purification powers the Miko would have won. It was not only her strength and compassion that gained his respect. The wisdom she held to see past his aggressive front was what caught him off guard and won his respect.

Indeed, the Miko was admirable.

And although he loved Kura for many decades now, maybe it was time to move on.

His decision to accept the Miko into the 'Sho' rank was definitely one step forward in moving on.

**Author's Note: This chapter is a Birthday Present to myself and for my dear readers.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	14. The Request

**Chapter Fourteen- The Request**

The setting sun painted the sky with darker colours, notifying him that evening had arrived. Sesshomaru continued to read through scrolls while the sounds from the evening ceremony echoed within the Castle walls. Finishing one scroll, a clawed hand hovered over the next set of scrolls. But, the sudden memory of Kagome getting hurt caused his clawed hand to pause.

A silent sigh escaped Sesshomaru's lips.

A day had only passed by since the match. Yet ever since then, an uncomfortable tug on his chest did not seem to ease. He had visited her room this afternoon, but was told that she had been sleeping through the whole day.

Unable to focus on his work anymore, Sesshomaru walked towards the lily vase. He noticed the lilies were now dried up and no longer held any scent. Since Kagome would always come visit his study to replace the dead lilies with freshly picked ones, he did not realize how quickly the flowers dried up. Now experiencing one day of her absence, he couldn't help but notice how much her presence filled his day. Looking out from the window, golden eyes glanced at the flower field of lilies. Without another thought, Sesshomaru walked out of the study and towards the flower field in hopes to relax.

The white flowers seemed to reflect the different colours caused by the setting sun.

A cool breeze swirled past the field and carried the scent of lilies.

Silver hair swayed in the wind.

The sound of grass crunching from under each footstep was faintly heard.

Footsteps stopped in front of a tree and Sesshomaru sat against it. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the tree. Though the noise from the evening ceremony could be heard more clearly from the flower field, the scent of lilies helped calm him.

"Did you see what happened at the match?" a demon's voice reached Sesshomaru's sensitive ears.

"You mean the Shikon Miko being accepted into her rank?" another demon's voice asked.

"No, no, didn't you see Lord Sesshomaru break the arm chair after the match?" the demon said bluntly. Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes to narrow them.

"SHHHH!" the other demon shushed. In a lower whisper, the other demon said carefully, "You probably don't know anything because of your 'Shin' rank, but _never_ talk about Lord Sesshomaru or spread rumors. Even if you _tried_ to talk of Lord Sesshomaru behind his back, _no one _would dare listen to you."

"But, why?" the demon asked clueless.

The other demon yelled out, "You have to ask why? Lord Sesshomaru will no doubt kill you in the most painful way where your skin burns of poison until you become a puddle of acid!"

The scent of fear emitted between the two demons and reached Sesshomaru's nose. He scoffed at the demons stupidity for thinking he would slaughter anyone for spreading rumors of him. Yet at the same time, he didn't mind the others fearing to say anything behind his back. Recalling his actions during the match, it had surprised even him for he always held himself with control.

The uncomfortable tug on his chest returned, along with the anger from the memory.

"Sesshomaru?" a soft voice reached his ear. He knew who the voice belonged to and felt the turmoil that raged within him vanish. Golden eyes met with her ocean blue ones. But just as Sesshomaru could feel relieved, his eyes caught the bandages that wrapped around her right shoulder and arm.

With narrowed eyes, he said sharply, "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I slept all day, Sesshomaru. I couldn't go back to sleep after that. And plus, I wanted to see the stars!" Kagome said gently, while ignoring his sharp tone.

"Stars," Sesshomaru echoed the reason for her to be outside her room when she should be resting.

A smile brightened her pale face as she said, "Yes, stars! They are so beautiful here. You can see them all shining brightly without clouds of smoke to cover their glow."

Watching her position herself to sit beside him, he then saw her looking up at the sky with awe. Following her gaze, he looked at the stars with dull eyes. Once again, she seemed to find the beauty in objects he never found beautiful.

As if knowing his eyes looked towards the stars with dullness, she explained, "Isn't it amazing that the stars are so far away, yet they glow so brightly that we can see its glow with our own eyes? I want to be like these stars that can shine the faintest light for people when all is dark."

Dull eyes glanced at Kagome.

Blue eyes continued to twinkle with awe as her attention was still directed towards the vast sky.

The moonlight beamed brightly to surround a glow upon her figure.

Dull eyes softened at the sight of her.

Once again looking up into the sky, dull eyes were replaced with deep thought.

It was the first, to look at stars with a different meaning.

However, the peaceful silence was quickly interrupted by the sound of Kagome's whimper. Quickly glancing at her, Sesshomaru saw her gripping onto her right arm with a pained expression. Guilt sank in as he remembered that he was the reason for her injury.

"Kagome," a deep voice called out gently. Kagome looked towards Sesshomaru with shock, while forgetting the pain. Seeing the guilt past his golden eyes, she heard him say stoically, "I shall listen to one request."

A hopeless smile tugged on her lips as she knew this was his way of apologizing. How he figured out the bruise he caused on her arm, she did not know. An apology could have been enough, but knowing Sesshomaru, he probably thought he needed to _do_ something in return. Tapping her finger against her chin, she tried to think of something.

Sesshomaru saw her in deep thought after his comment. If she asked him to make her 'Hime', he would. If she asked him to take revenge on the 'Gon' leader, he would. Anything she asked for, he had already placed his honor to listen to her request. Though others would have used this opportunity to satisfy their heart's desires, Sesshomaru knew she was different from the rest.

"Um," Sesshomaru noticed that she had decided and heard her say, "Can you tell me why you began to think of the demon society so harshly?"

Kagome noticed from the beginning that Sesshomaru disliked the ways of the demon society. From the beginning, he had discouraged her to make friends and spoke of the demons/demonesses negatively. Recalling Sesshomaru's anger directed towards her for falling for the 'Gon' leaders trap, she knew even then that his anger had to do with something of his past. But, she wondered what began it?

'Different indeed,' Sesshomaru thought as an unconscious smile softened his stoic face. He was, never the less, surprised that Kagome would use her request to ask questions of his past. Sesshomaru knew the answer to her question; he knew the exact memory that he had purposely buried deep within.

He had never told the vile memory to anyone.

It was a memory he was ashamed of.

But he was now honor-bound to answer her question truthfully, and because it was _her_ who had asked.

She was not like the demons he had overheard, who feared to speak of him. No, she would keep his words to herself because she was honorable.

Slowly, he turned his head to look up into the dark sky.

Golden eyes hardened.

His lips thinned.

Shoulders tensed.

And he steeled his face to remain stoic.

Sesshomaru voiced coldly, "After my Father's death, I was placed Lord over the Western Lands and positioned in the Daiyoukai rank."

Kagome immediately knew for one so young to bear the burdens at being at the top of the demon society must have caused many issues.

"My Father's brother was appointed the Daiyoukai rank leader and became my advisor. Soon, decades passed by and I eventually entrusted important decisions to him," Kagome heard the tightness in his voice. She knew that this advisor had been one of the few that must have gained Sesshomaru's trust. Silently reaching out to touch his sleeve, Kagome gripped onto the silky material.

Golden eyes darkened as his voice held an unforgiving tone, "It wasn't until a few more decades did I find out he had turned the Western Lands against me in return to favour him. But, his greed became his downfall."

He remembered the blood of his advisor drenched on his hand,

The memory burned into his mind, the image of seeing his own reflection through the advisor's lifeless eyes; his reflection of tinted crimson eyes.

His beast had taken over after learning of his blood relative's betrayal. It had scared the entire demon society to hear that the young Lord Sesshomaru had killed the Daiyoukai leader. Ever since then, Sesshomaru was appointed the Daiyoukai leader and feared by all.

Unconsciously, Kagome gripped tighter onto his sleeve.

Her heart burned from the thought of the betrayal he had to experience at such a young age.

Her heart dropped. It probably took decades to undo the destruction his Uncle's betrayal had caused within the Western Lands; each arising after effect reminding him of the betrayal.

The betrayal would make anyone begin to see the demon society as a group of greedy demons.

It gave anyone enough reason to turn cold to the unforgiving world.

Everything seemed to make sense now.

As memories flashed through her mind she had realized something.

Sesshomaru always warned her about the dangers of the demon society; warning her that the 'Tsu' rank would use her friendship for evil intentions. Then, he was angered when she 'overstepped' her boundaries by placing herself in a dangerous position because she changed the 'Tsu' rank leader.

He was trying to prevent her from experiencing betrayal…prevent her from the reality of the cruel world he had experienced.

A wave of warmth ceased the pounding pain against her chest. Not caring whether he did so unconsciously or purposely, Kagome silently held this realization close to her heart.

"You should return and rest," she heard him say. Noting his voice no longer held any sign of distress, she sent him a smile of gratitude for answering her question.

His eyes followed her as she disappeared from his sight to head inside the Western Castle. Pulling up the memory he had successfully sealed away, he had thought he would feel the consequences for doing so. That memory always managed to stir him to feel anger and hatred. Yet, all he felt now was warmth. Looking beside him, golden eyes glanced at the spot she sat on. Soon, his attention caught onto his sleeve where she gripped onto with her left hand.

A wrinkle on his sleeve was visible.

A wrinkle that was caused by her tight grasp around the material.

Warmth.

The memory of his Uncle's betrayal had always been a reminder to never trust anyone again, to never see any beauty within the demon society. But, her sorrow he had sensed in her aura seemed to break his resolve to keep hating.

He remembered the sincere respect she gained from the 'Mu' rank, the 'Tsu' rank, and now the 'Sho' rank.

As a chilled breeze passed through the darkened flower field the scent of lilies came alive.

Sesshomaru looked up to see the pitch black sky scattered with stars shining brightly.

Warmth unveiled past his golden eyes.

'Beautiful,' his heart whispered.

The silent inuyoukai continued to rest against the tree within the flower field. Though the rest of the Castle slumbered, the inuyoukai stayed awake to observe the night in a new light.

This new light she had managed to spark within him.

**Author's Note: Thank you, to all my dear readers for wishing me a Happy Birthday.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	15. The Distance

**Chapter Fifteen- The Distance**

At last, the Western Castle no longer held the thick scent of perfume, the high pitched squeals of demonesses, or the barks of demons. Silence had fallen upon the empty Castle; the only members residing were the Lord of the Castle, the Western Prince and his intended mate. It was finally the month where the ceremonies for the Hime tradition would begin to decrease and be held every full moon.

The faint creak of a heavy wooden door echoed in the hallway. As the Lord of the Castle exited his study room he headed towards the West Wing. Black boots strode gracefully along the marble floors without a sound. It was as if silence was to be kept; as if silence was sacred. Halting before a certain door, the Castle silence was quickly broken by a frustrated cry from behind the door. Opening the door, golden eyes flickered with amusement at the sight.

Kagome stood in front of her full length mirror while glaring at her reflection. With a frustrated sigh, she huffed away the strand of hair that was in the way. Her kimono was drooping down one side of her shoulder as she barely managed to cover herself with the material. Emiko had left her with a simple kimono now that the Lords and Ladies had left the Castle. But with Emiko gone on an errand and Inuyasha gone to patrol, Kagome struggled to dress herself with her right shoulder still unusable. Already 30 minutes had passed by and Kagome was not even close to looking presentable.

Finally looking past her own reflection in the mirror, she yelled out excitedly, "Sesshomaru!"

But noting his amusement he found from her struggles, she said with a frown, "I know I look really silly right now, but it's impossible to dress myself with one arm! Help me….please."

Amusement immediately disappeared from his golden eyes. Sesshomaru froze in his position the moment he heard her request. He detected that her requested was said out of desperation and without knowledge of the true meaning behind her words. Though he should have relaxed after this realization, he remained tense. Deciding that it would be more inappropriate to leave her half-dressed until the maid arrived, he stiffly nodded his head. Walking to stand behind her, Sesshomaru glanced at her oblivious blue eyes from the reflection.

Kagome remained as still as she could while lifting up her left hand. Starring at the mirror, blue eyes followed his clawed hands as he fixed the position of her kimono and smoothed out the wrinkles. The brush of his hand brought subtle warmth to sink through her thin layer of kimono.

Working on her obi, she held in a gasp as she felt Sesshomaru's face close in near her left ear. His arms encircled around her waist to wrap the obi around her. The sensation of his body heat right behind her back brought a slight blush to her cheeks. Turning her head away from his, she watched him from the corner of her eye.

'It is tradition for mates to help dress each other every day'.

Blue eyes widened in shock after recalling Emiko's words. Red darkened Kagome's cheeks as the colour reached the tip of her ears. Embarrassed by her own obliviousness, she hoped Sesshomaru wouldn't think her as someone ignorant of demons customs.

Sesshomaru, who had just finished tying her obi, paused as he noticed her ears turn red. He gazed over her shoulder to look at the full length mirror. Clawed hands that were rested against her finished obi slowly fell down to his sides.

A deep red tint flushed beautifully against her milky skin.

Her black, waist length, hair tumbling down the silky material of the kimono.

Ocean blue eyes gently turned towards the mirror and gazed directly at his.

Breathtaking.

Catching an unknown emotion flash through his eyes, she broke away from his eye contact and whispered, "Thank you."

Ignoring the odd sensation his touch stirred, Kagome apologized, "And sorry, I forgot that it is tradition for only one's mate to help dress each other."

_Stab._

"I kind of understand now. I mean, why mates are only allowed," Kagome said shyly. A blush tinted her cheeks once again at the intimate feeling she felt as Sesshomaru helped dress her. She noticed that his hand did not even come in contact with her skin or body but still felt a burning sensation by the close distance.

_Stab._

Stoic eyes concealed the piercing pain he felt stabbing at his chest.

"By the way, did you need something from me?" Kagome asked, trying to shake away the embarrassment. Since Sesshomaru had come all the way to visit her room, she knew it was something important.

Emotions veiled by his gold eyes, he replied, "Inuyasha will take longer in his patrol compared to last time."

"Oh," Kagome looked downwards in disappointment. Without Inuyasha and the friends she made from the other ranks all gone, she didn't know what to do with herself. Just as she was about to ask Sesshomaru if he needed any assistance, he had already closed the door to her room. Blinking, Kagome wondered if Sesshomaru was in a rush to go somewhere since he left the room so quickly.

Kagome sat on her bed trying to think of what to do. Thinking out loud, Kagome muttered, "I wonder what demonesses do in their spare time."

She remembered that Chika and the other girls always talked about the art of dancing, painting, or music. Making a disapproving expression, she couldn't see herself enjoying any of their interests. Kagome began to pace around her room. She really wanted to ask Sesshomaru if she could assist him with something, anything. But, the memory of Sesshomaru's closeness replayed in her head making her blush again. Confused by the burning sensation that coursed through her body, she guessed it was because she was rarely that close to a male.

'Just think it was Inuyasha,' Kagome thought to herself. She hoped that the odd sensation would disappear if she thought it was Inuyasha instead of Sesshomaru. She never felt this way when Inuyasha touched her or neared her.

"Strange," she whispered as confusion deepened across her face. Forcing the odd sensation away, Kagome headed towards Sesshomaru's study room.

_Knock knock._

Kagome winced at the weak sound of her knock. She had been more hesitant than she thought.

"Come in,"

Popping her head between the doors, she noticed Sesshomaru signing through several scrolls. Kagome hesitated before entering the room and closing the door behind her. Nearing his desk, Kagome asked, "I was wondering if you needed any assistance."

Noticing his shoulders tense, Sesshomaru's eyes briefly glanced at her as if burdened by her presence. Kagome second guessed her decision to come here after catching Sesshomaru's stare.

His stoic mask hardened unwaveringly.

Golden eyes blankly read through the scrolls.

A clawed hand massaged the side of his temple.

Kagome wasn't _that_ oblivious to understand her presence was unwanted.

A searing pain consumed her.

Blue eyes unveiled both confusion and hurt by his distant actions. Forcing a smile on her face, she said with fake cheerfulness, "Ah, I almost forgot that I promised to help Emiko out with something. I'll come back tomorrow, Sesshomaru."

Quickly exiting the study, Kagome dropped her cheerful act.

Her smile faltered as her lips slightly quivered.

She headed straight for the flower field hoping that the place would calm her.

On her way to the flower field she began patting her chest near her heart.

_Pat._

He was just really busy.

_Pat._

She had just misunderstood his stare.

_Pat._

She cared because he was just another important friend.

Standing before a ground covered with white lilies, Kagome inhaled deeply to capture the scent. She struggled to gently lie down on the green grass without straining her right shoulder. Soon facing the light blue sky, Kagome released a heavy sigh. Her uninjured hand reached up towards the clear blue sky. The sky didn't look so far by the way it looked now, yet Kagome knew how far the sky truly was.

'Sort of like Sesshomaru,' Kagome thought. He seemed so close one minute and then the next seemed so far.

He truly confused her sometimes.

But then a small smile tugged on her lips as she knew the difference Sesshomaru had with the sky.

The clouds cleared from the sun causing a beam of sunlight to warm her body from the cold ground. Gently closing her eyes, she continued to raise her hand towards the sky. An image of Sesshomaru lingered in her mind as she whispered softly, "I can reach him."

Though the sky could never be reached, Sesshomaru could be.

Feeling her raised arm numb from the lack of blood, her left arm fell to her side. Warm sunlight, the calming scent of flowers and the cool breeze of wind surrounded her senses. Soon enough, Kagome dozed off into a deep slumber as nature watched their Miko sleep with a warm smile.

It wasn't long until the wind that swirled around the slumbering Miko moved to swirl around an inuyoukai who had just entered the clearing.

The silky white material of the inuyoukai's haori rustled in the wind.

Black boots stood next to the slumbering Miko.

The white lilies swayed in the wind as if to wake their Miko to see who had come for her.

Instead, the inuyoukai tenderly gathered the unawaken Miko into his arms and picked her up from the ground.

Long bangs casted a dark shadow upon the inuyoukai's face for his head was lowered to look at the Miko in his arms.

The wind swirled past the two figures.

Suddenly, all of nature witnessed the inuyoukai's bangs float away to see regret portrayed behind his golden eyes.

Silently, the inuyoukai carried the Miko and headed towards her room.

A silent apology with his silent actions.

While the Miko dreamed of one day reaching the cold inuyoukai, she didn't realize that the distance had indeed slightly closed.

**Author's Note: Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this chapter! A significant moment for the two and I hoped I portrayed its beauty deservingly.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	16. Reached

**Chapter Sixteen- Reached**

-The Next Morning-

Kagome tightened her grip around the handful of white lilies. Heading towards the study room, she felt her footsteps grow heavier and heavier as if reluctant to near the room. Reminding herself that she had just mistaken the cold atmosphere and that he was busy, she thought of several reasons as an excuse for his cold behavior.

Arriving at the double doors to his study room, she noticed that the doors were slightly open. Kagome quietly moved to peak through the cracks. She saw piles of scrolls on his desk. His silver hair tied back to prevent strands of hair distracting him while he worked.

"Come in, Kagome," she heard him say softly. Her silly worries vanished. At the same time, a relieved smile made its way to her lips as she recognized his gentle voice. Kagome pushed past the double doors and placed the lilies into a vase near the window.

"You will record the information from several scrolls into the Western books," she heard Sesshomaru voice stoically. Quickly turning her attention towards him, her eyes widened. Golden eyes no longer held a distant look but rather were replaced with a softer glow. She felt joy burst within her. Unwavering blue eyes continued to stare at his softened eyes in awe.

A few minutes had passed by as Kagome continued to stare in a daze. Realizing that Sesshomaru was now looking at her with a raised brow, her daze broke as she heard him say, "Did you not want work?"

Nodding her head fiercely, she blurted out quickly, "Yes! Yes, I wanted work! Thank you!"

Eagerly scanning the desk, Kagome searched for the scrolls she would read through and the Western books she would write records in. She was so confused with all the piles of scrolls stacked on his desk that she didn't know which one she needed to work on. Biting her lips, she continued to scan his desk and asked, "Which one is mine?"

"How do you plan to write, Kagome?" She glanced at Sesshomaru to see amusement dancing in his eyes and smirking.

Kagome pouted and silently grumbled her frustrations at her injured arm. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru's smirk widened at the sight of Kagome blaming her injured arm for preventing her to work.

"I will send your duties to your room when you have healed," he said to try and ease her frustration. Feeling bad that she wasn't able to be of help to him, she sent him an apologetic smile.

Sesshomaru noticed she was about to leave and said, "I will also be away for a few days."

Kagome paused after hearing the news and then asked sadly, "Where are you going?"

Though Sesshomaru never told anyone where he was going, he said, "To the Western fortress."

Titling her head to the side, she wondered what business Sesshomaru had there. Then remembering the young human child that traveled with him, she blurted out, "Can I come with you!? Please?"

Seeing Sesshomaru tense, she quickly reached for one of his tense hands that rested on his desk. Covering her left hand over his, she stared into his eyes with a pleading look.

"Fine," she heard him say stiffly. Too excited to finally journey outside of the Western Castle, she grabbed the hand she was holding and pulled it towards her cheek. Kagome didn't notice his hand tensing even more as she snuggled her cheek against his hand. The overflowing rush of excitement pumped through her veins causing her heartbeat to pound against her chest. Smiling sweetly at him, she said warmly, "Thank you!"

Kagome slowly let go of his hand as her fingers grazed till the tip of his hand. Her excitement caused her feet to lighten as she ran out of the study. She had much to prepare for this new trip.

His hand she had touched remained frozen in the air.

Golden eyes were fixated on the door she had vanished through.

She did not realize the raging storm she would always stir up and leave with him. Once again, she left his study after stirring up a commotion. Clenching his tense hand, the burning sensation from her touch remained. Golden eyes shifted his attention to stare at the hand she touched.

She knew nothing, indeed.

-The Afternoon-

Kagome dressed in her Miko garb to make sure she was comfortable while traveling. Emiko had helped her sew a backpack for her using her description and instructions. Packing all the necessities she would need for a week's worth of traveling, Kagome had to restrain herself from skipping all the way towards the Western Gates. She saw Sesshomaru waiting for her in front of the gates. The moment he noticed her arrival, he turned to leave the Castle. Catching up to him, Kagome comfortably walked by his side.

"How long will it take to get there?" Kagome asked.

"One hour," he replied stoically.

The last words needed to be said were said. The two walked side by side in a comforting silence. No words needed to be exchanged for the other's presence was enough to feel at peace.

The sun continued shining brightly in the sky without a single cloud to cover its heat. But with the tall trees that loomed beside their path, its leaves covered the strong penetration of the sunbeams. A cool shade scattered the path they walked on. Kagome couldn't help but drink in the wild trees and plants with her eyes. It had been too long.

They had reached a clearing where there no longer held tall trees to loom over them. Looking upwards at the clear blue sky, her footsteps unconsciously slowed. Unaware that Kagome had come to a full stop, she reached for the sky with her left hand.

She wanted to reach him, Kagome thought.

Slowly lowering her hand, blue eyes widened to see Sesshomaru stop to stand a few steps in front of her. She had thought he would just walk ahead without her, instead he waited. With her left hand still half way raised, she moved to place her hand against his arm.

A strong breeze rushed through.

Kagome tucked her hair as it floated along with the wind. A tender smile tugged on her lips as she looked at him with warmth.

By reaching him, she hoped to show him that there would be at least one person he could believe in.

One person that would never betray him.

That she would be that one person.

She saw his golden eyes soften, causing her heart to race at the sight.

She had reached him, she felt.

Her left hand lingered against his firm arm for a while before letting go. Moving a few steps forward, Kagome glanced behind to wait for him to reach her side before walking.

For the rest of the trip, the Miko and Inuyoukai silently walked side by side. The Miko busied herself by engraving the beauties of nature into her mind. The Inuyoukai, on the other hand, glanced at the Miko from the corner of his eye from time to time.

Silently.

Arriving at the Western Fortress, Kagome observed the beautiful structure with amazement. The fortress was not as big as the Western Castle, but could compare in beauty. Elegant carvings on each tile decorated the Japanese rooftops. Kagome could even see from a distance that the wall paper of the fortress held a rich texture.

"It's beautiful, Sesshomaru," Kagome breathed out in awe. Sesshomaru slightly smiled and hesitated before placing a hand on her back to guide her inside.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin yelled out. The child Kagome remembered had grown taller, but still had a child-like face.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome winced at the squeaky voice that rang loudly. Noticing Jaken running as fast as he can with his short legs, she tried to hide her laughter from the funny sight. But, a giggle escaped her lips causing her to gain Rin's attention.

"It's Lady Miko!" Rin said as she pointed at Kagome. Smiling sweetly at Rin, Kagome said, "You can call me Kagome. And you are Rin, right?"

Rin nodded her head and said cheerfully, "You remember me! But why do you come with Lord Sesshomaru?"

"I am staying at the Western Castle, so I followed Sesshomaru because I was bored," Kagome explained.

"Hmmm," Rin sounded as she wondered why Lady Kagome was residing in the Western Castle. Rin glanced at the hand Sesshomaru had still placed behind Kagome's back. Also noting a softer expression she had never seen him express, she thought out loud, "Are you Lord Sesshomaru's mate?"

Red flushed against Kagome's cheeks at the awkward and surprising question. Releasing a nervous laughter to ignore her racing heartbeat, Kagome said, "No, no, Rin, I am Inuyasha's intended mate."

Rin was about to ask Lady Kagome more questions, but stopped. She noticed her Lord's soft expression vanish. His usual stoic mask appeared, but this time she thought it looked more hardened than usual. Although she did not understand the reason for her Lord's sudden change, she knew she should not continue on the topic.

"Do you want to see the gardens?" Rin asked to change the topic. Seeing Kagome eagerly nod her head, Rin grasped her hand and lead her to the gardens. Grabbing for Jaken's hand too, Rin exclaimed, "Jaken, you must come along too!"

Kagome laughed at Jaken's squawks of complaints as he was being dragged by the arm.

Her laughter rang through the fortress bringing life to the once dull building.

Flashes of so many unpleasant memories ran through his mind.

This place had been his hide out during the days his Uncle betrayed him and sent out assassins to kill him.

Sesshomaru could only remember returning to this place bloodied or half-dead.

Twinkling blue eyes looked behind and yelled out, "Sesshomaru!" She waved her hand to ask him to join them before being pulled away by Rin.

Feeling his chest tingle, old anger was replaced with warmth.

The flashbacks ceased.

All those unpleasant memories didn't seem to matter anymore.

Sesshomaru followed the sound of her laughter and soon reached the fortress gardens. His eyes remained glued on her as she moved through the garden entranced by all the different flowers. Watching her searching for something, he knew what she was searching for.

Rin noticed Kagome's fidgety behavior and asked, "What is wrong, Lady Kagome?"

Glancing at Rin with a sheepish smile, Kagome replied, "I'm looking for a certain type of flower."

"I don't know the names of the flowers, Lady Kagome," Rin confessed.

"Kagome," a deep voice called out. Turning her head to Sesshomaru, Kagome heard him say, "The lilies are to your right."

Brightly smiling, Kagome thanked him and scurried over the right side of the clearing. Meanwhile, Rin was staring at Sesshomaru with her mouth hanging open. She had always presented her Lord with many flowers over the years she traveled with him. But, he never held any appreciation for them. He looked at them as objects rather than beautiful creation. This was why he never knew the names of the flowers. That was why Rin never learned the names of the flowers.

Yet…he knew what 'lilies' were?

Rin saw Lady Kagome return while holding white flowers in her hands. Guessing they were named 'lilies', Rin asked, "Are lilies your favourite flowers, Lady Kagome?"

"Yes, they are," Kagome replied. She held the flowers near her nose to breathe in the scent. Kagome neared Sesshomaru and handed him one of the lilies she was holding. But, it was through Rin's eyes that saw Sesshomaru's expression relax after Kagome had looked away from him.

Was it because these 'lilies' were Lady Kagome's favourite flowers that caused her Lord to know the name?

Rin smiled wide.

It was a good thing.

She was always sad when she saw Lord Sesshomaru looking at the flowers she loved with dull eyes.

But Lady Kagome seemed to change that.

"Jaken! I'll make you a flower crown!" Rin cried cheerfully. She skipped after Jaken who was running away. A huge smile remained on her lips.

Kagome remained at Sesshomaru's side under the shade. Observing Rin chasing after Jaken made Kagome smile. But, she couldn't help but worry that Rin might feel isolated and lonely in the fortress with only guards and Jaken. She knew that Sesshomaru wouldn't entrust Rin to a human village. There was a high chance that Rin would be beaten for having a demon as a guardian. There was a higher chance that Rin would not even be accepted into the village.

"Won't you allow Rin to remain in Sango and Miroku's village?" Kagome voiced softly. Sango and Miroku had built a village that accepted demons, half-demons and humans. Rin would have Shippou and many more friends to keep her company.

Glimpsing sideways, Kagome caught his golden eyes watching Rin.

He must know that Rin is alone. He must care.

If he did not know or care, she didn't believe he would have come visited her when he still had a lot of paper work to go through.

Blue eyes softened as she stared at Sesshomaru affectionately. Slipping her left hand around his arm, she caught his attention. A care-free smile painted across her lips as she said, "You can place personal guards, however many you want to protect her. But I think Sango and Miroku would risk their lives to protect Rin either way."

Sesshomaru slightly furrowed his brows while he considered her suggestion.

"This will be good for both you and Rin," Kagome said as she patted his arm. Chuckling at Sesshomaru's confusion over her words, she explained, "I assure you, you will feel more at peace knowing that Rin is taken care of in a village that will love her and become her second home."

"Hn."

Kagome's smile widened as she leaned closer to Sesshomaru. And although seconds turned into minutes, he remained still. He did not pull away, but rather accepted her touch.

**Author's Note: A storm is just beyond the horizon *evil smirk*  
**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	17. His Answer

**Chapter Seventeen- His Answer**

A beautiful full moon engulfed the sky with its large presence. The strong auras of many demons once again filled the Western Castle. From out the window Kagome saw lanterns lite along the entrance path. Faces were still shadowed by the darkness of the night, while the lantern light only reflected the different colours each guest wore as they entered. The evening ceremony for the Hime tradition would be held tonight. Yes, a month had already passed since the last ceremony. Kagome didn't know how time seemed to fly by so quickly.

After remaining in the Western Fortress for a day, Sesshomaru decided to allow Rin to stay at Sango and Miroku's village. So, the next day they had set out for her friends' village. It was there where she spent weeks with them and help Rin adapt to the new area. Well, Rin adapted easily and made friends with Shippou quickly without her help. Kagome's eyes softened at the memory of her stay at Sango and Miroku's village.

Suddenly sensing Emiko stop midway through her braid, Kagome looked at her through the mirror.

"What is it, Emiko?" Kagome voiced worriedly. The distraught expression on Emiko's face worried her. Emiko's attention snapped towards Kagome as she said, "Prince Inuyasha has returned."

But just as the feeling of joy could be expressed, Kagome heard, "The scent of his blood is strong, Lady Kagome."

"No," Kagome managed to whisper before rushing to the door. At the same moment her hand reached for the door knob, it swung open. Her cry of surprise was muffled by a bloodied claw hand.

"Kagome, make a barrier around me," Inuyasha commanded in a hushed tone, "Now!"

Quickly obeying what Inuyasha had asked of her, she placed a barrier around Inuyasha and covered his scent. Kagome was confused and frightened by Inuyasha's actions. She spotted several old and new injuries that covered his entire body.

"Emiko, get me some new clothes," Inuyasha ordered. Slowly, he uncovered Kagome's mouth and saw her rush for her first aid kit. She then rushed back and tugged his hand towards her bed. Wincing, Inuyasha sat down on her bed as she began to wrap his wounds.

Spotting a large claw wound along his side, Kagome finally asked, "What happened, Inuyasha?"

"Patrol," Inuyasha grunted.

Scoffing at his answer, Kagome voiced with frustration, "I thought patrolling was just observing the land. You look like you've just battled a whole entire army by yourself!"

Inuyasha remained silent while a frown darkened his expression. He did not intend to return back to the Western Castle until all his wounds had healed. He knew he would only make Kagome worry. But, the entire 'Jiki' rank decided to finally attend the ceremony today. If he was not present at the ceremony for their entertainment, he feared that the 'Jiki' rank would attack the closest to him; Kagome.

"You should rest, Inuyasha," Kagome said worriedly.

"No," Inuyasha said immediately, "I will attend the evening ceremony."

Glancing to see Kagome's doubtful and suspicious expression, Inuyasha headed towards Emiko, who held his change of clothes. He didn't wish for Kagome to notice anything yet. He was always prepared for the taunts and insults that would be said about him, but Kagome wouldn't be fine with that at all. Worried she would cause uproar, Inuyasha voiced seriously, "Promise me you won't cause trouble today."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "I promise."

"Keep your word," Inuyasha warned. She would definitely try to stand up for him against the 'Jiki' rank, but he would not allow her to get involved with another one of his troubles.

-The Ceremony Hall-

Lanterns decorated along the inside of the hall. Loud chatter resounded within. All the ranks and all its members had gathered for one reason; the Hime Tradition would officially begin. With their current Hime about to appear, she would observe and pick the Hime candidates. The chosen Himes would then be announced in a few months.

A pulse of raw power radiated through the ceremony hall. All sounds silenced. Every eye present in the ceremony hall looked towards the double doors. And as the double doors opened, their Lady Hime entered. Silver hair gracefully swayed as she walked silently. A gorgeous pink kimono adorned her pale white skin. Every rank and all its members bowed before her. Inukimi, Sesshomaru's mother, walked through the double doors and straight towards Sesshomaru. Turning to stand by his side, Inukimi announced to the crowd, "May the ceremony begin."

The sound of chatter once again echoed in the hall. Inukimi side glanced at her son and said dryly, "I heard you visited the Western Fortress while I was away. My own child doesn't even have the courtesy to wait another day to see his own mother."

"Rin is at a human village. She is safe," Sesshomaru informed stoically. He knew her comment was only made because she wasn't notified of Rin's departure or given the chance to say goodbye. Though his mother also resided in the Western Fortress, he didn't think she would form an attachment with Rin.

"Humph," she muttered, "You never trusted human villages. Why the sudden decision to start trusting one now?"

A slight grimace crossed his face. The one reason he steered away from his mother was because she asked too many questions which he was honor-bound to respond.

"They are allies who assisted Naraku's downfall," Sesshomaru said curtly. Although the taijiya and the monk were allies, it was how much Kagome seemed to trust them that pushed his decision.

Inukimi narrowed her eyes with suspicion. She had heard that Sesshomaru came to the Western Fortress with another human child. Wondering if this new child was the one to change his opinion, she searched for any hints to who this person was.

Golden eyes diverted to stare at the opening double doors. Her scent had alerted him of her entrance. Unconsciously softening his hardened eyes, Sesshomaru watched Kagome step through the doors. But, every feeling and emotion that surged within him had quickly vanished at the sight of Inuyasha's arm wrapped around her waist.

"Another human child?" Inukimi voiced as she followed her son's gaze. Guessing that the human child was the one who had come by with Sesshomaru, she asked, "Who is she to be here?"

"The Shikon Miko," Sesshomaru answered.

"Ah~" Inukimi voiced lightly, "The one who is to be Inuyasha's mate?"

Not hearing her son confirm her question, she glimpsed at him to see stone hard eyes. Inukimi was surprised that he did not even hear her question. Her surprise only grew as she saw the 'Tsu', the 'Mu' and the 'Sho' rank approach the child with eyes of respect. She couldn't believe that the human child could gain the respect of demons who were supposed to be more powerful and wiser.

"Hn," she heard her son grunt, "Calling the Shikon Miko a human child would be an understatement."

Widened eyes were replaced with amusement as Inukimi thought, 'Interesting.' Her son _never_ complimented anyone. Noting the 'Jiki' rank approaching Inuyasha and the Miko, Inukimi peaked to observe her son's reaction. She knew the fight the 'Jiki' members would stir with Inuyasha and perhaps with the Miko as well. She was curious as to how her son would react. She would find out what this Miko was to him.

Kagome noticed the 'Jiki' rank approaching her and Inuyasha. This was the first time meeting anyone from that rank, so she was excited. Thinking that the 'Jiki' rank was coming to greet Inuyasha, Kagome placed a friendly smile on her face.

"Looks like you've finally learned your place and decided to hide your stench from polluting the air," a 'Jiki' commented the barrier around Inuyasha. Kagome's friendly smile vanished. Blue eyes narrowed at the rude demon. The sound of the 'Jiki' ranks laughter disgusted her.

"Now, now, we can't treat our 'Jiki' leader this way," a dragon demon exclaimed with fake worry. Hearing them indicate that Inuyasha was their rank leader, Kagome couldn't hide her surprise for she never heard of this. Another 'Jiki' member caught her surprise and barked, "Even his intended mate didn't know of his leadership! She must be smart enough to know the half-breed is unworthy. Prince Ryuu should definitely be our rank leader!"

"Keh, no one's ever challenged me for my title as leader. Do you finally have the guts to now?" Inuyasha growled back. Kagome detected Inuyasha's hand holding onto his ribs and realized his wounds must have reopened. Worry filled her at the thought of his pain and the direction the conversation was flowing towards. Inuyasha's comment would surely anger the 'Jiki' rank and cause someone to challenge Inuyasha for his leader title. Inuyasha would be in a disadvantage with his hidden injuries. Kagome had to think of something to prevent this and quickly.

"What did you say!? As if we ever treated you like our leader! You are just the leader in name!" another demon from the 'Jiki' rank yelled out.

Inuyasha's expression darkened.

'Cowards,' he thought. For decades they disrespected him, yet could never challenge him to a fight for they all knew he would win.

The loss of blood seemed to make him lose control over his pent up anger towards the 'Jiki' rank. Kagome could feel Inuyasha's anger for she felt angered by the demon's comment too. Although she wished to allow Inuyasha to vent his anger at them, she had to stop him and protect him from fighting anyone.

"Oh ya?" Inuyasha scoffed.

Kagome needed to cover up his mouth before he said anything else. She couldn't cover his mouth with her hand or 'sit' him because it would be a sign of disrespect. Thinking fast, Kagome decided to use her position as his intended mate to cool down his anger.

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's red haori with both her hands and pulled him towards her. His anger was replaced with surprise and confusion by her actions. Then, with his head turned towards her, Kagome placed her lips over his.

A kiss was the perfect way any mate would try to cover up their partner's mouth.

Golden eyes turned away from the sight, while Inukimi's amused smirk faltered after witnessing her son's reaction.

Kagome pulled away from the light kiss and stared at her successfully distracted friend. Relieved that the anger seemed to be forgotten by her surprising actions, she whispered, "Your injured, Inuyasha. You shouldn't go challenging others, yet."

"It seems like our rank leader is injured," Prince Ryuu announced dryly to his fellow rank members. Fearing that Ryuu had overheard her comment, Kagome was about to deny the fact. However, following Ryuu's gaze, she saw drops of blood beside Inuyasha.

'Oh no,' Kagome thought in worry.

"I challenge you for the title of leader, half-breed," Prince Ryuu said cockily. Furious by Ryuu's decision to fight when his opponent is weakened, Kagome snarled, "Coward! You finally wish to challenge his position when he is weakened?"

"Now, now, Lady Kagome, a leader should be stronger than the rest no matter how injured or weakened he may be," Prince Ryuu said slyly. Glaring at him, Kagome began to notice everyone making room for the challenge to begin.

Desperate.

Worry overflowed within her at the thought of Inuyasha fighting while injured. It wasn't fair; Kagome felt pain pierce through her at the injustice and disrespect towards Inuyasha.

Desperate eyes scanned the crowd, looking for the only one who held the power to stop this challenge.

Blue eyes met Gold.

She pleaded with her eyes for him to stop this. She pleaded for him to do something, anything. Yet, he responded with stoic eyes that told her he would not step in.

Her heart sank.

She thought she meant a little more to Sesshomaru. To at least care and listen to her plea for help.

"Ready your weapon, half-breed," Prince Ryuu voiced maliciously. Ryuu had waited for this moment, this opportunity to finally arise. As the strongest out of the 'Jiki' rank, he believed he could win against the weakened half-breed and gain his title. An evil smirk appeared on his lips as he watched the half-breed slightly limp towards the center of the hall.

Inuyasha pulled out his transformed Tetsusaiga and waited for Ryuu's attack. Meanwhile, he could feel Kagome's eyes boring into his back which were probably filled with worry. He knew the blood trailing down his side was worrying her. Noticing Ryuu closing in with his sword, Inuyasha blocked the blade aimed at his injured side. Inuyasha held in a growl from Ryuu's despicable actions. Not one who enjoys playing with his opponents, Inuyasha swung his sword. Slicing open a deep wound across Ryuu's arm, he heard a pained cry.

Ryuu's eyes widened from the strong blow. He noticed that not a single sweat or tremor was visible on the half-breed, even though he was injured. Ryuu's smirk dropped.

Inuyasha poured all his anger into his attacks, cutting Ryuu in all the openings. It was only a matter of minutes before Ryuu was covered in his own blood.

_Rip_.

Another blow landed on his other arm. Ryuu coughed and tasted his own blood as he felt it drip down his mouth. Feeling the grip around his sword tremble, he whispered to himself, "How?"

He couldn't understand how the half-breed was still powerful after the brutal injury he looked to have before the fight. He heard the half-breed say, "You give up now?"

A battle cry sounded from Ryuu's voice while he swung his sword at the half-breed in anger and humiliation. Inuyasha noticed Ryuu had used the sword's power as shots of black energy came at him. Narrowing his eyes, Inuyasha snarled at the dishonorable act because Ryuu ignored the fact that his attack might injure the crowd that surrounded them. Swinging his sword at the incoming attack, Inuyasha reflected the black energy upwards. As a loud blast rumbled throughout the ceremony hall, the black energy collided with the ceiling causing it to crumble downwards. The ceiling headed straight down to Ryuu. Looking up with wide eyes, Ryuu then clenched them tightly for he knew he couldn't escape.

The sound of rocks falling to the ground was heard. But feeling no pain, Ryuu opened his eyes to see a pink barrier protecting him from being crushed to death. Fear, shock, and confusion surged through him at the realization of what had occurred.

Silence filled the ceremony hall. The crowd watched in awe at the Miko's action. Her choice to save the dragon demon who had insulted her mate left the crowd speechless.

"I accept my defeat," Ryuu voiced painfully. He awaited Leader Inuyasha's decision to either strip him of his rank or keep him. It was the consequences of challenging their leader.

Ryuu suddenly heard his Father cry, "This challenge is invalid! The wench interfered! The half-breed shouldn't have the right to strip my son of his rank! This is preposterous!"

Everyone who witnessed the challenge knew that the Miko had not interfered but had saved the Prince from his death. However, no one spoke up for the dragon demon's Father was the Lord of the North.

"Be careful of what you say, Northern Lord," a sharp voice replaced the silence. All eyes looked towards the sound of the voice to see Lord Sesshomaru. He continued stoically, "The _half-breed_ you speak of has just returned from destroying the tiger clan you have failed to take care of. Would you like to challenge him again when he is not injured?"

The scent of the Northern Lords fear filled Sesshomaru's nose. Seeing that dragon demon decided to remain silent, he announced, "Decide, Inuyasha."

The crowd hushed to wait for Inuyasha's decision to allow Ryuu to stay or strip him of his rank.

"He stays," Inuyasha grumbled before walking away to return to Kagome's side. A loud uproar spread through the crowd.

Sesshomaru's gaze followed Kagome as she led Inuyasha out of the ceremony hall to probably tend his reopened wounds. Too busy being engulfed by several emotions, he did not feel his hand clenching tightly.

"Sesshomaru," his mother's voice seemed to pull him out from the waves of emotion. Turning to look at her, he saw shock written across her face. She whispered doubtfully, "You couldn't possibly be in love with the Miko, could you?"

She denied it when she saw the pained expression as he looked away from the Miko placing a kiss upon her mate. She doubted it when she saw jealousy flicker through his golden eyes as the Miko pleaded help for her mate. But now, she couldn't deny her observations anymore. She knew the look on her son's face for she had the exact same look long ago. Sesshomaru was so much like her than she had realized. Inukimi's expression had slightly changed to that of a sad one as she remembered her painful past; the days she experienced her one-sided love for her mate.

"The Miko is Inuyasha's intended…" Inukimi trailed off.

Mating had always been a business or an agreement where both partners exchanged benefits. It had been drilled into his head that there was nothing intimate about mating.

No love involved or exchanged.

So…he had forgotten.

He had forgotten that she was in love with Inuyasha since the beginning.

Before Naraku's downfall; before she came to the Western Castle; before he became interested in her; before she became important.

She had always loved Inuyasha.

"Sesshomaru? Do you love her?" her serious tone demanded an answer to her question.

Once again, his mother asked too many unnecessary questions. She waited for his response; a response he would never say to anyone else. Obliged to answer, Sesshomaru responded.

"I do."

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	18. Go Away'

**Chapter Eighteen- 'Go Away'**

The sound of the study room door opening was heard. But already knowing who the intruder was, Sesshomaru continued to scan through a report. With a stoic voice, he said, "You are still here?"

Her scoff reached his ear before hearing, "As if I would return to the Western Fortress without meeting the Shikon Miko."

Golden eyes finally looked up from his paper work and narrowed towards his mother.

"I will not say anything about you, Sesshomaru," Inukimi said, while waving her hand in reassurance. Sesshomaru began to massage his temple at the headache his mother was causing.

"I also noticed that Inuyasha has left the Castle," she voiced her observations out loud. Glimpsing towards her son, Inukimi continued, "Even though he is all healed, you didn't have to send him out to patrol so quickly."

Not seeing the reactions she wanted to see, Inukimi said, "If I recall correctly, it isn't necessary to patrol as frequently as you send Inuyasha to do so. How odd…"

"Are you questioning how I run the Land?" Sesshomaru said coldly with a glare.

Inukimi released a disappointed sigh. She had wished to hear her son confess more of his feelings, but instead seemed to divert away from her intentions. Inukimi guessed that he would not reveal anything more than his love interest for the Miko. What worried her now was the fact that Sesshomaru was sending Inuyasha off to patrol more frequently and longer than required. It was obvious to her the reason for her son's actions. Another sigh, this time out of a heavy heart, was released.

"I will leave you with one last note," Inukimi voiced seriously, "Using your power, title, or position to make her only see you will never work. You will never get her to love you that way. Trust me; I know this to be true."

Noticing his golden eyes pause for a split second before continuing to read through reports, Inukimi knew he understood the meaning behind her words. Purposely sending Inuyasha away would not make the Miko love her son.

Exiting the study room, Inukimi turned to her maid and ordered, "Bring me the Shikon Miko."

Her footsteps echoed in the empty hallways as she made her way towards her room. Pushing two grand double doors, Inukimi stepped into her enormous room. She walked towards her balcony that had a table and two chairs. Already sensing her maid and the Miko nearing her room, Inukimi sat on one of the chairs and neatly smoothed out any visible wrinkles on her haori.

"Come in," she voiced coolly after hearing a light knock on her door. Scanning the Miko, she did not sense fear or nervousness, just plain curiosity. Inukimi moved her hand to point at the empty seat in front of her. Her eyes did not leave the Miko as she came to sit down.

"I heard that you were the one who assisted the 'Mu' rank elder from leaving his rank. Then, you replaced the 'Tsu' leaders. You were also challenged by the 'Sho' leader and won. Am I correct?" Inukimi asked stoically. It would be a lie if she said she wasn't surprised by the news of what the Miko had done. She couldn't believe that a mere human could achieve so much in a short span of time.

After a flash of confusion, Kagome nodded her head.

Inukimi ran a hand through her silver hair in silent frustration. Although she knew how the events occurred, she could not figure out the Miko's reason for causing them. Confused, Inukimi blurted out, "But why did you bother to assist the 'Mu' rank? Why replace Kura? Why accept the 'Sho' leader's challenge? You are only a human, so why bother changing the demon society? What benefit does it have for you?"

Inukimi searched for her answer by looking into the Miko's blue eyes. She was prepared to see the calculation or scheme behind the Miko's eyes. Instead, Inukimi met with innocent and pure blue ones.

Her questions rang through Kagome's mind. She didn't quite know how to answer the Lady's questions for she herself did not know why.

She was at loss of words.

Why?

It was everything. Because of everything. Everything she fought for screamed for her to change the demon society.

"Never mind," Kagome heard Sesshomaru's mother breathe out, "How can you answer when it seems like you did these things out of instinct. Such an odd human."

Kagome glanced to see the Lady's eyes softened and looked to her with approval. Kagome wondered what the approving look was for and the reason for Sesshomaru's mother to come seek her in the first place.

"I thought you would not wish to seek my presence, since I am Inuyasha's intended…" Kagome trailed off. Knowing the history of Inuyasha's birth, Kagome assumed that Sesshomaru's mother would have a slight grudge against Inuyasha.

"It is not Inuyasha who has betrayed me, was it? So I see no reason to place the blame onto him," Inukimi said nonchalantly.

A warm smile appeared on Kagome's lips as she said, "Sesshomaru resembles you in that sense. You both are fair and honorable."

A glint of mischief glimmered in Inukimi's eyes. She had caught the flash of affection pass the Miko's face. She had waited patiently for the topic of her son to come up.

"And here I thought that you would still be angry with him," Inukimi voiced her thoughts. She did not know how well the Miko knew her son, but the Miko should surely still be angry with Sesshomaru's actions of not stepping in to help Inuyasha.

"I was," Kagome said lightly, while Inukimi noted the past tense she used. Blue eyes softened to reveal a tender look as Kagome continued, "But then I realized that Sesshomaru did not step in to help because he knew that Inuyasha would win. Also, if he were to step in, then it would not help Inuyasha gain any more respect and make Inuyasha look weak for acquiring aid from another."

Inukimi found the Miko's response astonishing. The Miko had correctly interpreted her son's actions, even though there was a bit of jealousy that made him react that way. Inukimi tried to keep her voice stoic as possible as she asked, "And what do you think of Sesshomaru?"

Kagome had not been able to see Sesshomaru for the past few days. But, her thoughts always seemed to return back to him. The Lady's question was something she had been trying to figure out as well. Dazing off into her own world, the image of Sesshomaru stuck inside her head. Unconsciously, blue eyes reflected the burning sensation the thought of him would always stir within her. Drowned by the sensation, Kagome whispered out the words spoken from her heart, "I think he is amazing."

She found him to be so much more than she thought he was. But how could she explain such a feeling?

"He is strong minded,"

He went through such a rough betrayal at a young age, was surrounded by corrupt and greedy demons. Yet, he did not fall into the temptation to follow along.

"He is kind and shows it in his own small ways,"

He protected her several times. He did so many small gestures here and there that she could not exactly explain his kindness. But, she knew he cared because she felt cared for.

"Oh? And what is he to you, Miko?" Inukimi voiced in an interested tone. The Miko continued to surprise her more with her innocent confessions. No one was able to reach him to that extent.

Still in a daze of her own world, Kagome didn't recognize Inukimi's voice, but rather thought it was the voice of her inner thoughts. With an honest voice, Kagome answered, "An important person. He is very important to me."

An invisible smile began to form along Inukimi's lips. Maybe her son did have a chance to win the Miko's heart, she thought. But she knew it was still too early to tell. Standing up from her seat, she noted the Miko shake from her daze. Running her hand through her silver hair, she said, "That's all I wished to know. Come; walk me to the Western Gates."

Obeying Sesshomaru's mother, Kagome followed after her. She guessed the Lady was leaving the Western Castle. Silence remained between the two women as they walked through the Western halls. Suddenly, Inukimi broke the silence by voicing her thoughts, "I have never seen a human like you, Miko. No human has ever held such intelligence or unique attributes like you do."

'That's because I'm from the modern era,' she wished to tell her. In truth, she was just an average human in her modern era. It was because she was in the feudal time that made others think she was special.

Arriving at the Western Gates, Inukimi stopped in her footsteps.

"You would make an interesting Hime Candidate," Inukimi said coolly. Kagome quickly turned her head to look at Inukimi with a surprised expression. But before she could say anything, Inukimi flew off after saying farewell.

Kagome stood frozen for a few minutes in front of the deserted Western Gates. Blinking back her surprise, she headed straight for the flower field. Confused by the feeling of guilt began to sank into her heart, Kagome breathed in the smell of lilies as comfort.

'_No human has ever held such intelligence or unique attributes like you do'._

The more she thought about it, she realized she wasn't intelligent; she was just as smart as everyone in her era. She wasn't unique; she was very average in her era. She was just from the modern era…that's all.

'_You would make an interesting Hime Candidate'._

No, she didn't deserve the title.

She felt like she was deceiving people.

As time passed by, Kagome felt worse and worse. Guilt heavily consumed her causing her to not realize she had arrived in front of Sesshomaru's study room holding a handful of plucked lilies. Already standing at the door, Kagome knocked.

"Come in," she heard. She saw him busy at work as usual. Quickly placing the lilies in the flower vase, Kagome glanced at him once more. She noted that his hair was not tied and was in the way of his work. Before Sesshomaru could reach to tie his hair, Kagome asked, "May I?"

He looked to see her pleading eyes before agreeing to her request with a slight nod. Kagome smiled gently as she walked to stand behind him. She began to brush through his silky hair with one hand and gathering his hair with another. Immersed in the pleasant feeling of his soft hair, Kagome didn't realize Sesshomaru's shoulders gradually tense from her touch.

Each stroke through his hair helped Kagome calm down.

"I met your mother, Sesshomaru," Kagome confessed in a hushed voice. Sensing Sesshomaru's displeasure, Kagome heard him ask, "What did she say to make you seem so bothered?"

Her heart warmed. It was these small gestures that made her adore him more. He noticed she was bothered by something, but he would not comment on it unless she was willing to bring up the topic. Caring blue eyes glanced at the back of his head pretending he could see her expression. Slowly, her hand reached for a silver strand of hair along his ear. She then gently tucked the strand of hair along his ear and brushed her hand against his skin.

She could tell him about her secret; that she was from the future.

She could tell him and only he could understand her.

"You remember the odd clothing I wore when we first met?" Kagome asked. Feeling his head nod, Kagome blurted, "Well, they were my school uniform."

She heard his voice hint confusion, "School?"

Continuing to brush through his hair for comfort, Kagome said, "I'm from the future. Exactly 500 years. In the future, humans go to a huge building, called a school, to study all sorts of topics. But then, I was pulled into the feudal era through a well."

She regretted saying this to him while standing behind him. She really wanted to see his expression as she told him her secret. She wanted to know what he thought. Would he hate her for deceiving him? Would he lose respect or interest now that he knew the reason for her intelligence and unique attributes?

Not hearing any response from him, she continued to ramble on, "Your mother told me that she's never seen a human like me. She then said that I would be an interesting Hime Candidate. But…I realized that I'm actually really average, a normal human in my era. I just look special because I'm in the past. So, don't you think I'm deceiving people because I'm using the knowledge I have from the future? I'm sure if anyone else from the future was in my position right now, they would have the same respect from the demon society. I don't think I should fight for the title of 'Hime'. I don't think I'm deserving of it."

Finished tying his hair Kagome's hands dropped to her side. She couldn't believe she had just told him all her doubts and worries. So used to being the strong minded one in her group of friends, she was never able to pour out her thoughts to anyone. Yet, here she was making herself look so weak and vulnerable in front of Sesshomaru.

He must think she was pathetic now.

"You're wrong," she heard him say stoically. Glancing up from the ground, Kagome looked to see golden eyes turned to stare at her.

"If you think that anyone else from the future could gain my respect as you have, you are poorly mistaken. It was not only your intelligence from the future that made the ranks respect you, it was the way you handled the situation."

His words were like a magnet that latched onto her heart sending waves of warmth streaming through her. She felt her body moving towards him without her knowledge. Soon, her arms were embraced around his neck as she snuggled her nose against his neck.

For the first time in the feudal era, she felt that she had someone to rely on.

Someone who accepted her for all she was.

Embracing him, she felt his body heat comforting her. His scent filled her nose and seemed to have the same effect of her favourite lilies; relaxing.

'I never want to let go'.

Suddenly realizing what she was thinking, Kagome gently but quickly let go of him. Hiding her flushed red cheeks from him, she thanked him before rushing out of the study room. She ran towards her room and slammed her room door shut.

Kagome began patting her chest to calm her racing heartbeat. Blue eyes were still widened with shock at her own thought.

"Go away," she whispered to her thundering heart.

"Go away," she said again as she pat her chest.

"You have to go away."

**Author's Note: For the readers who have been waiting for this chapter, I'm sorry! I was a bit stuck! But hopefully, from here on, things will run smoothly. What are your thoughts for this chapter? I hope it was okay!**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished. **


	19. Her Answer

**Chapter Nineteen- Her Answer**

'She is from the future'.

Sesshomaru leaned back against his chair as he placed down the report in his hand. This fact explained the odd objects she carried around, her knowledge on advance numbers, and her effective healing supplies. He always predicted that she was brought up in a different area just by observing her strange behavior. However, he never considered she might be from a different time. He recalled Kagome voice her guilt for gaining demons respect because she held the advantage of her knowledge on the future.

The memory brought a soft chuckle to escape his lips.

A tender look shined through his softened eyes.

Had she truly tried to take advantage of her knowledge on the future, she could have sold her healing supplies. She would instantly be showered with riches. She could have exposed her wisdom on advanced numbers to the entire demon society. She would gain their respect immediately. He could think of so many other ways to take advantage of the knowledge on the future era.

Yet, she did none of those.

No, Kagome would use her healing supplies to heal the weakened and sick.

No, she would use her knowledge for the sake of those who need it.

"Foolish onna," Sesshomaru whispered to the empty room. His voice reflected a loving tone. Her secret was meant to sicken him and lose interest in her. Instead, she did the opposite. He could only admire her even more. Suddenly, the memory of her soft hands stroking through his locks of hair flashed through his mind. Intense heat flowed through his blood, almost causing his body to tremble from the sensation.

She had forgotten again.

Grooming was only for mates.

A piercing pain followed the heat that circulated within him.

He didn't know if he should curse or thank her forgetfulness.

Successfully distracted, he knew he couldn't focus on his work anymore. Gathering a few scrolls and books, Sesshomaru walked towards Kagome's room.

_Knock Knock._

Sesshomaru opened the door to see her standing outside her balcony. With her back turned towards him, he saw her staring at the vast view of the Western lands. A soft glow surrounded her figure. His breath hitched from the beauty. Each step he took towards her had his chest pounding harder. Reaching to stand beside her, golden eyes glimpsed at her from the corner of his eye.

A few minutes passed by as the two continued to stand side-by-side in silence. Kagome was enraptured by the beauty of the land that she couldn't stop gazing at its magnificent view. Knowing of Sesshomaru's silent presence beside her, a smile appeared on her lips. She knew his hard work caused his land to maintain such beauty as she recalled the pile of paper work he had to go through each day.

"You have done a great job, Sesshomaru, with the Western land," Kagome complimented truthfully.

Golden eyes slightly widened after hearing her soft words.

How?

Those words…

He wanted to hear his Father speak the words Kagome had just spoken. But with his Father gone, he thought he would never hear those words or care to hear them from another.

A tingling sensation stirred his heart.

Her words were enough.

"And thank you," Kagome said shyly as she lightly grasped onto his sleeve. She saw him raise a brow questioning what she was thanking him for. She hoped her eyes portrayed everything she was feeling as she looked into his golden ones.

"For accepting me, understanding me…for everything," Kagome said softly. Sesshomaru was the first one who did not need to know of her secret, but told anyways.

His eyes softened.

Red flushed against her cheeks.

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

Blue eyes looked away from his gaze in embarrassment.

Adoration flickered across golden eyes.

Her grasp on his sleeve loosened.

He felt her let go.

She had to escape his gaze somehow.

He unconsciously captured her hand in his.

Her heart pounded against her chest quickly.

His heart beat thundered in sync with hers.

Although it was just a moment, the moment seemed to last forever for the two.

A precious moment.

"Books!" Kagome blurted out quickly after spotting the books in his other hand. Her beating heart couldn't take it anymore. She needed to escape his gaze and his hold, so she blurted out the first thing she saw to distract him.

"They are the duties you asked for," Sesshomaru said. About to pass the books and scrolls to her, he spotted her glancing at the hand he was still holding onto. He was about to reluctantly let go of her hand until he saw her darkening blush. Golden eyes revealed his growing amusement at her blush.

"These scrolls need to be recorded," he said. Her blush darkened as she just nodded her head to avoid eye contact. Golden eyes twinkled with laughter as he tried to stall the time for when he had to let go of her hand.

"When you are finished, bring them to me." She nodded her head quickly to show that she understood and he could leave. She didn't think her heart could take anymore.

Waiting a few more seconds, he finally let go after seeing her blush turn crimson. He handed her the books and scrolls before turning around to leave. Had Kagome looked up to see him before he left, she would have seen a small smile linger on his lips.

-A Weeks Later-

"Kagome," she heard her name being called from behind her room door. Knowing it was Inuyasha, she said, "Come in."

Kagome thought her friend would take longer in his patrol. However, this time he came back after only a week when usually he took about a month to patrol. Smiling at her friend, she said cheerfully, "Good morning!"

She lightly giggled at his grumpy face for she knew he was cranky in the mornings. He grumbled out, "Sesshomaru called us both to his study room."

Tilting her head to the side, she wondered why Sesshomaru was asking for both her and Inuyasha. With a shrug, Kagome slipped her arm around Inuyasha's as they both headed to meet Sesshomaru. As they neared the study room, Kagome noticed Inuyasha begin to slow down his pace.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"_She's_ here," he said with a hushed voice.

"Who?"

"Sesshomaru's mother."

Kagome couldn't help but notice Inuyasha's uncomfortable expression. Understanding his reason to feel so, she patted his arm in reassurance.

"It will be fine," she voiced confidently. Kagome knew Inukimi did not have a grudge against Inuyasha. And it was the confidence in her voice that made Inuyasha's hesitance cease.

Inuyasha knocked on the study door and heard a female voice order, "Come in."

_Creak._

The door opened to reveal Inukimi standing beside Sesshomaru's desk as he remained seated.

Both bowing in respect to the Lady, Kagome asked, "You called?"

"Yes," Inukimi said stoically. It took a lot of control to hide her excitement to see the Miko again. She couldn't wait for the full moon to appear to meet with the Miko. So, she decided to come earlier than planned.

"I have decided to host the evening ceremonies for the Hime Tradition today," she informed calmly, even though she was excited to share the news. Today, she would announce the Hime Candidates.

"To-T-Today?" Kagome asked with confusion.

"Yes, all the preparations have been handled," she said coolly.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru with confusion and saw him massaging his temple. Guessing that his mother is one to always do things her way, Kagome softly giggled. She could already imagine his mother driving him crazy in the past.

Inukimi slightly smirked. She noticed her son stop massaging his temple after hearing the Miko's giggle. Her voice exposed her excitement, "I will be announcing the Hime Candidates today. But, the reason I've called for you and Inuyasha is because you need to make a decision."

Silence rested upon the study room as everyone waited to hear what Inukimi would say. Confusion clouded Sesshomaru as he too did not know what his mother was about to sprout.

"I plan to choose you as one of the Hime Candidates, Miko," Inukimi said. Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru and sent him a grateful look. It was through his words that helped her feel deserving to be chosen.

Inukimi's voice suddenly turned serious as she stated, "However, the one who wins the title of Hime is usually not mated and has no intended. This is because strong demons wish to mate with the Hime. So, I suggest you break off your betrothal with Inuyasha for now."

Inukimi tried to hide her sly smirk. It was her intention to rid the Miko of her promised ties with Inuyasha. She knew her son would never try to reveal any of his feelings if the Miko was promised with another. It was dishonorable.

But what if the Miko was no longer promised to anyone?

"NO!" Kagome yelled abruptly.

Silence filled the study room as all glanced at Kagome in shock.

She promised to gain the title of Hime for Inuyasha. She promised to mate him. She promised to help him see the hidden beauty within the demon society.

How could she have forgotten her promise with Inuyasha?

She had forgotten that everything she did within the demon society was supposed to be for Inuyasha. Breaking off the betrothal with Inuyasha was the same thing as breaking off her promise with Inuyasha.

No, she would not break off her promise with Inuyasha.

She couldn't.

Feeling Inuyasha pat her head, Kagome looked to see gratefulness shine through his eyes. Meanwhile, Kagome felt shame sinking into her heart for forgetting her promise with him. She felt unworthy for receiving any thanks from her friend. But sensing his hand rest on her shoulder, blue eyes hardened with determination to follow through with her promise.

Inukimi recovered from Kagome's surprising outburst and said, "You can always choose Inuyasha to be your mate _after_ being titled Hime, Miko. I am just suggesting that if you are determined to win the title, you will have a higher chance of being chosen if you cut off from Inuyasha for now."

Inukimi struggled to keep her voice stoic. She desperately needed to convince the Miko to break off her betrothal with Inuyasha.

Her son…

Her son could have a chance.

"I sincerely appreciate your advice to gain the Hime title, but I will not break my promise with Inuyasha because of this Tradition. Not even for a few months," Kagome voiced sternly. Then, grabbing Inuyasha's arm, she bowed and walked out of the study room.

'I am to mate Inuyasha,' Kagome whispered to herself.

Pain throbbed against her heart.

The image of Sesshomaru flashed through her thoughts.

Her heart ached.

She knew why...but she would never label the emotion.

She would never say the words as to why the thought of Sesshomaru made her heart ache.

Grasping Inuyasha's arm even tighter, she tried to ignore the pain by focusing on her fiery determination to keep her promise.

Back at the study room, Inukimi stood frozen. She had not calculated to receive such a strong refusal from the Miko. Avoiding eye contact with her son as if afraid to see his reaction, Inukimi voiced coolly, "Well, that didn't go as intended."

Silence.

"Well, I need to make a few more arrangements for tonight's ceremony…"

Her eyes managed to glimpse towards her son.

She flinched.

Her heart dropped.

Silence.

"I will see you tonight then, Sesshomaru," Inukimi said to quickly leave the room. She heard her voice crack, caused by the lump of sorrow constricting her throat. She had wished to assist her son with his relationship with the Miko. But instead, she had made things worse. Glancing at her son once more, she knew she would not see him at the evening ceremony tonight. He wouldn't be able to control the pained expression that she witnessed.

-The Evening Ceremony-

Inukimi scanned the crowd and sighed. Her heart felt heavy as she realized her predictions of her son's absence was correct. She did not see or sense him in the ceremony hall. Knowing he would not show up if he had not already, Inukimi decided to go through with the ceremony without him. The moment she raised up her hand, the chatter within the hall ceased.

"I have decided the Hime Candidates," Inukimi voiced stoically. Tucking her hands into the sleeve of her haori, Inukimi announced, "Lady Inari, Heir to the Eastern Lands. Lady Kura, First Princess of the Northern Lands. Lady Kagome, the Shikon Miko. These are the Hime Candidates."

Kagome busily searched amongst the crowd and did not hear her name being called out as one of the chosen Hime Candidates. It wasn't until Chika and Akihiro approached her did she realize her name was announced. Gratefully accepting her friends' congratulations, Kagome secretly continued searching the crowds.

'Sesshomaru,' her heart cried out.

Scanning the crowd, blue eyes came in contact with glaring green eyes. Without flinching, Kagome glared back. Lady Inari's glare did not scare her. Instead, she knew that Lady Inari has recognized her as an official threat to the title of Hime. Watching Lady Inari look away with a scoff, Kagome felt her determination increase. She would not give up on the title of Hime. She would try her best, even with Inuyasha as her intended mate.

_Ache._

She was glad her eyes met with Lady Inari's for she had once again strayed away from her promise. Her promise with Inuyasha will always be threatened if she got any closer to Sesshomaru.

_Ache._

Gently placing a hand over her heart, Kagome unveiled a wistful expression.

'Go away,' she whispered to her aching heart.

She knew it was impossible to erase the pain, but she would master the ways of burying them.

Kagome patted her heart once and then twice.

The cries from her heart silenced.

"Kagome," she heard Inuyasha voice with worry. Blue eyes softened towards her dearest friend.

"I'm fine now," Kagome whispered to him. Linking her arm with his, she looked forward with a forced smile.

'I will be fine.'

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, dear readers! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	20. Heart's Cry

**Chapter Twenty- Heart's Cry**

For the second time that day, Kagome marched towards Sesshomaru's study carrying a pile of scrolls to return. It had already been two weeks since the last evening ceremony and she hasn't seen him since. She had finished recording the scrolls he had given her and searched everywhere to ask for more. But, she couldn't find him. With a frustrated huff, Kagome blew away the strand of hair that was in the way.

Knocking on his study door, Kagome waited to see if he was inside. After a few minutes of more knocking, she was too fed up to care for manners and reach for the door knob. Kagome turned the door knob and noticed it was open. Entering into the empty study room, she decided to wait until Sesshomaru walked in.

Nearing the window, Kagome had to cover her eyes from the dazzling sunlight. It was still the afternoon, yet she felt like she spent the whole day searching for Sesshomaru. She knew he was busy preparing for the evening ceremony that is supposedly held tonight. His mother had once again sprung a surprising order upon her son. A light giggle echoed in the empty study as Kagome thought these crazy requests of Lady Inukimi would become frequent.

Walking towards his desk, Kagome scanned the piles of scrolls stacked on his large desk. She placed down the recorded scrolls she had finished to the side and saw how little her pile was compared to his. Knowing the reason for her frustration, another sigh was released.

She wanted to lessen his burden.

She thought it acceptable to allow herself to help decrease his work stress.

But that was it.

That was as far as it would go.

However, trying to help him just made her realize how useless she was. Sesshomaru had only given her a small pile for the past two weeks and it had taken more than a day to complete the task. Sitting in his chair, Kagome leaned her head against it in defeat. She caught a trace of his scent as she took a deep breath.

Subtle pains squeezed her heart.

She wanted to see him.

Closing her eyes, she tried to hold back the overflowing thoughts of him. Wrestling with her weak control, sleep soon silenced Kagome's tired body.

'Sesshomaru,' the silent voice of her heart's cry slipped past her guard before she dozed off into a deep slumber. A small, but soft, smile lingered on her lips as she fell asleep.

As time passed by in the empty study room, a light snoring sound could be heard.

In a deep slumber, the Miko did not hear the door creak open or hear the heavy footsteps.

The Miko did not see the affection that reflected his golden eyes nor the pain.

The Miko did not see his clawed hands hesitantly reach to touch her.

Pause.

Clawed hands stopped midway.

Turmoil tore at his heart as he struggled to resist from touching her.

'_I will not break my promise with Inuyasha because of this Tradition.'_

Pulling his clawed hand away from her, Sesshomaru clenched them tightly. Remembering her words clearly, the pain it had left the first time scarred him twice.

He could not touch her.

It was dishonorable.

He was willing to do anything for her, but he would never give up one thing.

His honor.

Golden eyes steeled with control.

He would not lose his honor like his Father had.

Although he respected his Father, he had chosen to dishonor his mate by loving another human.

His thoughts returned to the slumbering Miko.

She has decided to mate Inuyasha, and so he will not interfere. Trailing her peaceful expression with his eyes, he engraved the image into his head and walked away.

This was enough.

-The Evening Ceremony-

"Lady Kagome!" Kagome turned her attention so see Kura approaching her. With a gentle smile, Kagome responded, "Hello, Lady Kura."

Kagome realized from the last evening ceremony that Kura was Ryou's sister and a dragon youkai. The information wasn't surprising for she could see the similarity between Ryou and Kura. And a dragon youkai was fitting for Kura's character.

"I wonder who will win the title of Hime. It will be a tough battle, Lady Kagome. Beware," Kura said calmly. With a fan covering Kura's mouth, Kagome couldn't distinguish Kura's meaning behind her words. Kura snapped her fan away and revealed a kind smile, catching Kagome off guard. Before walking away, Kura said cheerfully, "Good luck!"

'Beware? Of whom?' Kagome thought in confusion.

Shaking away her confusion, Kagome continued to scan the crowd in search for Inuyasha. He said he would be late, but already ten minutes had passed and he still hasn't shown up. Blue eyes noted a huge crowd forming in the center of the hall. Curious, Kagome neared the crowd to see what was happening.

"In a battle you only need good fighters and experience! How dare you think scholars are needed when it comes to battles?!" Kagome heard a 'Gon' rank demon yell out. She saw the new 'Gon' leader glaring at the 'Mu' ranks and nodding his head to what his fellow rank had said. Observing the new 'Gon' leader, Kagome noticed that he gave off a mature aura and more suited than the other rude and perverted leader. But it seemed that even with this 'Gon' leader, the hatred between the 'Gon' and 'Mu' rank continued.

"Strength and power is not everything! Knowledge is the priority when it comes to battles! Without knowledge, it's like sending brainless and dumb fighters swinging their swords like barbarians!" Kagome saw the 'Mu' rank elder explain harshly.

Kagome spotted Inari step into the middle of the crowd and exclaim, "The 'Mu' rank is correct. Knowledge is indeed important. If not, it would be the same as sending humans into battle. As demons, we differ with our wisdom." After her words were said, Inari's eyes landed right on Kagome and smirked.

Kagome knew Inari was challenging her. Inari's statement had insulted the knowledge capacity a human can hold. Unfortunately, Inari wasn't aware of the upper hand Kagome hand with her wisdom of the future. In deep thought, Kagome prepared her opinion of this issue.

"I think the 'Gon' rank is correct!" Kura interrupted Kagome's concentration. "It is useless to have knowledge as a priority. Battles are won by strength and power! If our armies are powerful, then who can defeat us?" Kura said snottily. The 'Gon' rank roared in agreement with Kura.

"And what are your thoughts on this, Lady Kagome," Inari voiced arrogantly. A smirk remained on her face as she waited to hear a ridiculous answer from the Miko. She didn't really care for the issue or the 'Mu' rank. It was a matter of gaining a ranks acceptance to gain the Hime title. But now that she had sided with the 'Mu' and Kura had sided with the 'Gon', the Miko would have none. Inari's smirk grew wider. The Miko will never win the title of Hime.

All eyes were on Kagome as they awaited her answer. Kagome stepped between the two ranks and voiced seriously, "It is important to be knowledgeable on the history of battles to understand what to do and what not to do."

Just as the scholars were about to cheer, Kagome continued, "But, the experience and skill of warfare are also important to determine if a battle wins or loses."

Silence filled the hall as none knew how to respond. Never before had anyone stood up for both ranks.

"Why choose one side or another when combined you can become stronger? I believe that by using both the knowledge and skills of warfare, one can become an undefeatable army," Kagome explained passionately. She knew from her history class that using both aspects in war is important to evaluate the safety of their soldiers. She also wanted to see the hatred between the 'Mu' and 'Gon' rank gone.

"Undefeatable, you say…" the 'Gon' leader said, breaking the silence of the crowd. "Our rank prides itself for sticking to our ways, Lady Kagome. We do not 'combine'," the 'Gon' leader said.

Blue eyes narrowed at the 'Gon' leader and challenged, "You will risk the lives of your men because you refuse to adapt to new ways? Your answer to becoming more powerful is to combine, so do what you wish with it."

No one said a word for no one was able to argue back.

Suddenly feeling a hand slip around her shoulder, Kagome heard Inukimi voice, "Demons can be a bit stubborn, my dear."

Inukimi pulled the Miko away from the crowd and lightly chuckled. Amused eyes stared at the Miko as Inukimi spoke, "I knew I was right to choose you as a Hime Candidate."

Kagome glanced back to see Inari glaring at her and both the rank leaders looking speechless. She wondered if her comment would change the relationship between the 'Mu' and the 'Gon' rank. She truly hoped they would combine their strengths.

Inukimi turned to glance at her son, just catching him staring at the Miko. About to investigate the Miko's reason for her strong refusal to break off the betrothal with Inuyasha, she was interrupted.

"Excuse me," Kagome said hurriedly as she rushed off. Wondering why the Miko rushed off so quickly, Inukimi followed her. She noticed the Miko headed towards the Daiyoukai rank and where her son was at. But soon spotting Inuyasha amongst them, she knew the reason for the Miko's desperate expression.

Kagome watched a Lord snarl, "Your existence is a disgrace half-breed. You taint Lord Sesshomaru's reputation with your filth! Had it not been tradition for the second Prince to hold the duties of patrolling the land, you would be on the streets!"

Amber eyes hardened with ice.

Shoulders stiff.

Hands tightly clenched.

Kagome knew Inuyasha was holding in his anger. Her heart twisted in pain as she realized that Inuyasha was still not accepted by all. It was her mistake to think that the fight against Ryou had brought Inuyasha acceptance. It hurt to see her friend receive such unjust treatment.

This is why she had to keep her promise.

"What are you still doing here half-breed!? Scram!"

It took all her strength to stay still, but she knew better than to interfere. Her heart broke a little more as she saw Inuyasha obey and walk away without a word. Kagome saw Inuyasha exit the hall and was about to follow him when she heard Sesshomaru's voice.

"Hn, you've never shown your disgust towards this Sesshomaru's Father," he said stoically.

With cold sweat forming, the Northern Lord stuttered, "W-W-Well, that i-is…"

"I despise cowards," Sesshomaru voiced coldly. Golden eyes glared right at the Northern Lord in warning before turning away.

Releasing the breath she had unconsciously held in, Kagome knew this was his way of protecting others.

The pain she felt for Inuyasha left her.

A tingly sensation spread throughout her chest.

Warmth.

Naturally, blue eyes melted at the overflowing sensation.

It was these small things…

These small gestures he did…

That made her heart fall for him again.

Blue eyes were fixed on him as she saw him scanning the crowd. Kagome wondered who he was looking for just before golden eyes met with hers.

Her heart's cry leaked past her guard.

For a second, blue eyes portrayed the truth hidden within her heart.

But just as it was revealed, it was concealed too quickly for Sesshomaru notice it.

Sending him a sweet smile, Kagome then turned to exit the hall. Patting her chest, she tried to silence her hearts cry once more.

And once again, the Miko did not see the anguish flicker in his golden eyes for he knew she was going to Inuyasha.

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


	21. Three Words

**Chapter Twenty-One –Three words**

Soft sounds of birds chirping echoed in the garden. Soft light shined through the leaves of trees. In the Western garden a round table was set up for a special occasion. Kagome had invited her dearest friends to stay another day after the evening ceremony to have tea. Pouring the tea she made into individual tea cups, a peaceful smile remained on her lips.

"Akihiro, have you written anything new these days?" Kagome asked gently, while passing him a tea cup. A blush appeared on Akihiro's cheeks as he responded, "N-no, not yet, Lady Kagome."

"That's too bad. I long to read another story written by you," she said honestly. She had not forgotten the new set of eyes Akihiro's book gave her. Seeing his blush deepen, a giggle escaped her lips.

"You almost gave me a heart attack during the evening ceremony, Lady Kagome~" Chika pouted. After taking a sip from her tea, she continued, "But I guess, Lady Inari's plan to make a fool out of you backfired. Your stance on the issue between the 'Mu' and 'Gon' rank was pretty impressive."

"Ah! Yes, Lady Kagome, our elder had a meeting with the entire 'Mu' rank to discuss your statement last night!" Akihiro piped in. But soon turning flustered, he stuttered, "However, I c-can't re-really tell you an-any details y-yet…"

"That's okay, Akihiro. I am just glad that the elder has taken my opinion seriously," Kagome voiced sweetly with a smile.

"Hmph," Chika huffed and continued harshly, "Nothing like Kura's answer."

Kagome saw Hisashi, Chika's intended mate, rest his hand over Chika's in comfort. She understood that Chika still held grudges against Kura, even though Kura seemed to have change for the better. Chika repeated Kura's words from last night, "It is useless to have knowledge as a priority?"

Snorting, Chika continued to mock Kura's words, "Battles are won by strength and power? What kind of opinion is that? No demon is dumb enough to behave that way. She is an idio-"

"Inuyasha seems to fight by strength alone," Ryuu, the 'Sho' rank leader, interrupted Chika. All eyes turned to see Ryuu calmly sipping his tea.

"O-Oi!" Inuyasha yelled as he stood up from his chair. Ryuu's words finally sunk in for Inuyasha to understand what was said.

A stiff silence rested upon the group. Chika, Hisashi, and Akihiro froze, not knowing how to respond to the awkward situation. All three watched tensely as Ryuu continued to calmly sip on his tea, while Inuyasha looked obviously ticked off.

"Well," Kagome said, breaking the silence. Immediately, all three eyes looked to her almost pleading for Kagome to fix the awkward situation.

"It's true."

A sweat drop formed along all three of the witnesses.

"What!? Oi! Kagome, you're supposed to be on my side!" Inuyasha growled.

"I'm just agreeing with Ryuu. It's true that you go into battle without prioritizing knowledge," Kagome said trying to hold back a snicker.

"You'd be dead by the time you think things through!" Inuyasha barked back.

"So you're saying you _don't_ use your brains in battle," Kagome pointed out.

"W-wha…No!" Inuyasha whined.

Kagome couldn't hold back any longer and burst out in laughter. Chika, Hisashi and Akihiro laughed along cheerfully. Even Ryuu had a smile upon his lips. Crossing his arms, Inuyasha tried to hide his embarrassment with a scowl, "Keh!"

Laughter jingled through the Western gardens as nature drank in the lovely sound. Finally unable to laugh any longer, Kagome wiped away a tear from laughing too hard.

"I say that you only fight by strength, but this does not mean you are weak, Inuyasha," Ryuu voiced calmly. He continued to sip on his tea before continuing, "What the Northern Lord said about you was false. I'm sure Lord Sesshomaru knows that too for he would not entrust anyone weak with the duties of patrolling the land even if it was tradition."

'_Your existence is a disgrace half-breed. You taint Lord Sesshomaru's reputation with your filth! Had it not been tradition for the second Prince to hold the duties of patrolling the land, you would be on the streets!'_

Kagome remembered the harsh words the Northern Lord has said towards Inuyasha. A smile appeared on her lips as she saw the acceptance Ryuu was showing towards Inuyasha. Seeing the others nod their head in agreement, her smile grew wider.

It was her wish to show Inuyasha the hidden beauty within the demon society.

Her wish must have been achieved.

He must have seen that not all hated him.

What a beautiful sight.

Even though the tea grew cold, the group continued to chat away in the garden. Only this time, Kagome recognized that Inuyasha was much warmer towards her friends.

As evening approached, Kagome and Inuyasha said farewell to her friends and watched them exit the Western Castle.

"I should go tell Sesshomaru that the last of the guests have left," Kagome said to Inuyasha. Just as she was about to turn and head towards his study room, she heard Inuyasha say, "Sesshomaru left the Castle to patrol."

Kagome revealed a confused expression. She thought it was Inuyasha's duty to patrol. Knowing the reason for her confusion, Inuyasha explained, "He wanted to check to see if I was doing my patrols properly."

"Oh," Kagome whispered. Kagome acted as if Inuyasha's response did not affect her, but her heart responded differently with disappointment. Looking up into the night sky, she wondered when he would return.

Near a human village, golden eyes looked upon the same night sky filled with stars.

Seeing her Lord looking up towards the dark sky, Rin asked curiously "Lord Sesshomaru, what are you looking at?"

'_I wanted to see the stars.'_

The memory of her words from the night after her challenge against the 'Sho' leader echoed in his ear.

"Stars," he responded with a hushed voice. Not quite understanding his answer, Rin asked innocently, "Does Lady Kagome favour stars?"

'_Yes, stars! They are so beautiful here. You can see them all shining brightly without clouds of smoke to cover their glow.'_

"She does," Sesshomaru responded in a softer tone.

'_I want to be like these stars that can shine the faintest light for people when all is dark.'_

Staring at a bright star in the sky, golden eyes revealed tenderness.

Catching her Lord's expression, a wide smile appeared on Rin's face. Lady Kagome always seemed to make her Lord see things in a different light. Lady Kagome would be perfect for her Lord. But, her smile faltered as she remembered that Lady Kagome was promised to another. Rin asked sadly, "Is Lady Kagome really going to mate Prince Inuyasha?"

Not hearing a response, she glanced at him. His eyes alone answered her question. Quickly averting her eyes to look down in shame, Rin regretted asking her Lord a question that made his eyes appear sorrowful. Noticing him move to stand, Rin followed. She knew he was about to leave the village. Bowing before her Lord, she said, "Good-bye, Lord Sesshomaru."

She felt his hand pat her head twice before looking up to see him vanish into the thick forest. Rin recalled Lady Sango telling her that Lady Kagome and Prince Inuyasha were only friends. The information confused her and she intended to tell Lord Sesshomaru this, but decided not to. She was sure Lady Sango was wrong. If Lady Kagome is Prince Inuyasha's intended mate, surely they were in love with each other. Looking up at the stars her Lord was staring at, Rin whispered her plea, "Please, Lady Kagome, notice Lord Sesshomaru."

_Crunch crunch crunch._

The crunching sound of fresh grass could be heard each footstep he took. Headed towards the Western boarders, Sesshomaru walked deeper into the forest.

Silence.

Too silent.

Suddenly stopping in his footsteps, golden eyes narrowed. Clawed hands skillfully reached for his sword. He saw a dark figure rushing towards him from the corner of his eye.

_Clash._

Quickly blocking an attack, Sesshomaru scanned the clearing to see five demons dressed in black with cloth covering their faces. Slashing one of the attacking demons, the injured demon fell to the ground.

'Weak,' Sesshomaru thought. Foolish was the one who dared to send assassins to ambush him. Easily blocking the weak attacks from the remaining four demons, Sesshomaru examined them to look for hints as to who had sent them.

"He is not the half-breed!" one of the masked demons called out. Sharply glaring at the demon that spoke, Sesshomaru wondered if they had meant to target Inuyasha.

'Why?'

Causing another demon to fall to the ground, Sesshomaru heard the leader whisper something. Abruptly, deep slashes formed on his body with the use of dark magic. Blood gushed out from the wounds and dripped to the ground. Golden eyes stoically turned to glance at the remaining opponents. He watched the demons flinch and look mortified by his unfeeling expression. Finding the fight no longer entertaining, Sesshomaru finished the three remaining demons.

The ground was soon painted with blood. As five demons lay in the clearing lifeless, Sesshomaru's blood began to mix with theirs. Blank eyes glanced down to assess his wounds. It had been a while since he's been injured this badly. Noticing that the dark magic was preventing his wounds from healing quickly, he cursed his carelessness.

Sesshomaru left the bloody clearing and headed towards the Western Fortress.

Crimson marks trailed on the grounds of the Western Lands.

With blood staining his white haori red, Sesshomaru arrived at the Western Fortress weakened. Sesshomaru allowed his stoic expression to fall. His sight blurred as he saw a figure approaching him. Before he allowed his body to fall unconscious, he whispered the name of the woman he longed for.

Inukimi gripped onto her unconscious son. Assessing his wounds, she whispered in astonishment, "Dark magic?"

After moving her son into the master bedroom, Inukimi ordered for her healers. She stepped outside of her son's bedroom and called for a messenger. Remembering her son calling out a name, she ordered the messenger, "Send for the Miko."

-The Western Castle-

It took only a matter of minutes for the messenger to reach the Western Castle. A loud urgent knock pounded against Kagome's bedroom door. Past midnight, Kagome was still awake to go over several scrolls she was assigned with. She looked up from the pile of scrolls in front of her and answered, "Come in."

"Lady Kagome!" Emiko yelled as she swung open the door. Emiko quickly searched through Kagome's wardrobe and pulled out a traveling kimono. With a distraught expression, Emiko said, "Lady Inukimi sent an urgent request for you to come to the Western Fortress immediately!"

"Now?" Kagome asked doubtfully. She walked towards the frazzled maid and tried to calm her down. But upon hearing Emiko's words, Kagome felt her blood freeze.

"Lord Sesshomaru is injured."

Fear slammed into her heart with great force.

Shock waves of pain trembled throughout her body.

"What?" a weak voice trembled out from her lips.

She didn't know how she got to the Western Fortress. She couldn't remember. All she knew was that she had to reach his side. All she felt was pure fear.

Upon seeing Inukimi's worried expression, Kagome felt fear chocking her.

"Come," Inukimi whispered as she wrapped an arm around Kagome. Bringing her to the bedroom Sesshomaru was resting in, Inukimi opened the doors for the Miko to enter. She then closed the doors to allow the Miko to be alone with her son.

Blue eyes fell upon his sleeping form. Each step was made hesitantly as if afraid to clearly see how wounded he was. Each step caused her throat to tighten making it harder to breathe.

Finally standing over him, tears fell from her blue eyes.

Bandages covered his body.

A pained expression remained on his face.

Blood soaked the bed sheets.

Her heart crumbled at the sight; the pain around her chest unbearable. Ever so slowly, Kagome crawled into the bed and curled up against his side. Her trembling hands reached to hold his. Nuzzling her nose near his neck, his scent calmed her aching heart. Tears continued to overflow past her closed eyes and down her cheeks.

'Only for a while,' she whispered tiredly to herself. She would stay like this for a moment before he could wake up. But alas, her weary heart drifted her into a deep sleep.

A peaceful slumber rested upon the Miko and Inuyoukai. Both did not know of the warmth they gave to each other in comfort as they slept. Both remained side-by-side as warm sunlight soon shined through the dark bedroom.

Golden eyes slowly blinked open. Sesshomaru moved to sit up and felt his wounds partially healed. The dark magic definitely slowed his healing process. Feeling something warm wrapped around his hand, Sesshomaru glanced to his side. He stiffened in surprise at the sight of Kagome curled up by his side asleep.

Dried tears visibly trailed down her cheeks.

His eyes softened at the sight.

A sad expression scrunched upon her face as she slept.

His heart lurched at a realization. He was the reason for her worry and tears.

Unable to stop himself, Sesshomaru leaned towards her.

Golden eyes fixed upon her lips.

The sound of his heartbeat rang in his ears.

Within mere inches, his lips almost brushed against hers.

_Knock Knock._

Pause.

Golden eyes that reflected his hidden desires reverted back to stoic ones. Slowly distancing away from her lips, reality came crashing down on him. The sound of the door opening was heard.

"Interesting," Inukimi voiced coolly. But with a growing smirk and amusement twinkling past her eyes, Inukimi struggled to hold in her excitement. The sight of both her son and the Miko in bed made her hope that something happened last night. But the moment she captured her son's cold eyes, her excitement vanished.

"Why is Kagome here?" he asked coldly.

"Don't give me that tone. You called out her name before falling unconscious," she snapped back. Not understanding the reason for her son's cold behavior, Inukimi scoffed. She watched her son move to get off the bed when he was stopped by the Miko's hand that still held his hand tightly. It was the flash of pain in his eyes that made her feel that she made the wrong decision to call for the Miko.

Sesshomaru pulled his hand free from Kagome's grasp. It took all his control to leave her warm grasp. Standing up from the bed, he put on his haori. Sesshomaru walked past his mother before saying, "Do not interfere again."

Pushing down the pain, golden eyes hardened.

Heading towards the study room within the Western Fortress, he needed to find out who ordered the ambush and the type of dark magic used. Sesshomaru recalled the assassins mistake him for Inuyasha. Who would want Inuyasha dead?

Hours passed by as Sesshomaru researched and looked through books. Suddenly hearing footsteps running towards his study room door, he sensed the Miko's aura. Sesshomaru forced his expression to remain stoic, yet golden eyes slightly dimmed.

BAM.

Kagome swung open the door she was told Sesshomaru was in. Anger and worry simmered beneath her skin causing her to forgo any courtesy to knock before entering. Seeing Sesshomaru appear perfectly normal and healed, she released all her anger, "How DARE you make me go through a HEARTATTACK! I thought you were DYING when I was notified that you were injured. Then you make me come here and see you all BLOODY! I thought I was going to DIE from a HEART ACHE or something! THEN you appear PERFECTLY FINE the NEXT DAY!? Are you trying to KILL ME or something!?"

Venting out all her anger and worry, she felt her legs weaken. She fell to the floor and placed a hand over her bruised heart. She was truly scared yesterday. Still, a relieved sigh escaped at the sight of Sesshomaru's wounds healed. Noticing black boots enter her range of sight, she looked up to see Sesshomaru extending a hand. Kagome let go of her anger and grasped for his hand.

His hand suddenly tugged her towards him. Blue eyes widened with shock at the sudden movement. Warmth embraced her as she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Feeling his chest rumble, a soft chuckle was heard. Though she knew she should be angry or embarrassed by his chuckle, she was too enchanted by the sound to even care. She gave into the warmth and rested her head against his chest.

A smile tugged on Sesshomaru's lips.

He couldn't resist embracing her after her rant.

He found her too adorable.

It tempted him to make her worry over him even more.

'_I love you.'_

**Thank you for reading,**

**Your reviews are cherished.**


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